This dissertation has been

microfilmed exactly as received

68-13,680

CRUMBINE, N. Ross, 1934THE EASTER CEREMONIAL IN THE SOCIO-CULTURAL

IDENTITY OP MAYOS, SONORA, MEXICO.
University of Arizona, Ph.D., 1968
Anthropology
Please Note: School lists name as Norman Ross
Crumrine n.
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE EASTER CEREMONIAL IN THE SOCIO-CULTURAL

IDENTITY OF MAYOS, SONORA, MEXICO

by
N. Ross Crumrine

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the

DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
In the Graduate College
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1968

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

GRADUATE COLLEGE

I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my

direction by
e/titled

Norman Ross Crumrine

The Easter Ceremonial in the Socio-cultural

Identity of Mayos, Sonora, Mexico
t

be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the

degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Dissertation Dir

5ate

After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the

following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in
its approval and recommend its acceptance:"

GL&J tsr;

J&JI&
tC^\

This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's

adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the
final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into
the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory
performance at the final examination.

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR
This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of
requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and
is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrow
ers under rules of the Library.
Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without
special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source
is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or repro
duction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the
head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when
in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of
scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be
obtained from the author.

SIGNED:

PREFACE
This study is based upon a year's field residence among the lower
Mayo River Mayos of Sonora, Mexico. Lynne S. Crumrine, my wife, and I,
working as a team, lived in the Mayo River Valley from early November
1960 through mid-December 1961. During this time we returned to Tucson
for two short periods of several weeks each. In the spring and summer of
1965 I returned to the River Valley for several weeks in all. Also two
Mayo friends were brought to Tucson for a short period of time during the
summer of 1965. This provided both an opportunity to check and fill gaps
in the data as well as a vacation and a new experience for them. To
Lynne I wish to express deep gratitude for constant intellectual contri
bution and emotional support as well as an undying faith in my capacity
to produce an integrated study. Without her this study, if it had been
possible at all, would have been greatly reduced in scope and intensity
of thought.
We elected the Banari area of the Lower River Valley as the focus
of our field research for several reasons. It is known as one of the more
conservative Mayo areas and masses a large number of participants for
traditional ceremonies. Also, there had been no intensive study of this
area, while the Upper Valley had been intensively studied by Ralph Beals
iii

(1943, 1945), the Yaqui-Mayo area by Charles Erasmus (1961, 1967),

and the Yaqui area by Edward Spicer (1954, 1958, 1961).
The 1960-61 fieldwork was financed under a Social Science Re
search Council Predoctoral Fellowship, supplemented by a National
Institutes of Mental Health Fellowship, with Lynne S. Crumrine as
recipient. The additional 1965 fieldwork and data collection was fi
nanced under a National Science Foundation Grant for Dissertation
Improvement with N. Ross Crumrine as researcher and Edward H. Spicer
as director of the dissertation. I am also grateful to California State
College at Hayward for a Special Faculty Leave with Pay for Specific
Research, Spring 1967, during which much of the final writing and or
ganization of the dissertation was accomplished.
Acknowledgments are more than deserved by each member of the
dissertation committee as well as by all my professors and all our Mayo
teachers. Our Mayo friends, although they must have believed us to
be very childlike and uneducated in the really important matters of life,
never lost patience and faith in our capacity to learn the Mayo language
and culture. Therefore, in many ways this dissertation is really theirs
and represents their own time spent as well as mine. I am deeply thank
ful for their hospitality and insights into their way of life. In order to
protect their privacy all place names in the dissertation are fictitious.
Also, my deep thanks go to the members of the dissertation committee

and to others who aided at points along the way. I wish to thank Dr.
Edward P. Dozier for aid and suggestions in the problem formulation and
early development of the dissertation. To Dr. Harry T. Getty and Dr.
Frederick S. Hulse, members of the dissertation committee, I am grate
ful for interest, generous dedication of time, and numerous positive
suggestions. Also to Dr. Harry T. Getty, I am thankful for the aid in
last minute details of registration and advisement, all of which were
accomplished quickly and efficiently even though we were separated by
some thousand miles. To Dr. Edward H. Spicer, the director of the
dissertation, goes much of the credit for any positive contribution which
this dissertation will make to the science of anthropology. His sugges
tions, time spent, and intellectual insights in addition to the academic
training which I received in his classes, are in great part responsible
for both the fieldwork and the final writing up of the data. Also I am
grateful to Dr. Spicer for his assistance in the efficient completion of
the dissertation even though much of the final reworking had to take
place through correspondence. Lastly, I am indebted to the Department
of Anthropology, the Department of Philosophy, and the University of
Arizona for the opportunity to pursue graduate study and research in
anthropology and philosophy.
On the first occurrence Mayo words are underscored and marked
for accent only when the accent does not occur on the first syllable.

vi

Thereafter only Spanish words and place names are marked for accent
and in accord with Spanish orthography.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
List of Illustrations

Abstract

xi

Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION

The Problem

The Method

II. THE BANARI MAYO EASTER CEREMONIAL

The First Six Friday Afternoons of Lent

10

Holy Week

16
? ?

The Capture of the O'ola, Sunday

Tinieblas, Wednesday
"Running" of the 'O ola, Thursday
The Crucifixion, Good Fiiday
Gloria, the Burning, and the Baptism, Saturday
Meeting of Christ and Mary, Easter Sunday
HI. THE ANALYSIS

...

16
17
18
20
22
24
27

Introduction

27

The Charter of the Mayo Easter Ceremonial

39

The Personnel

53

Introduction, The Parisero Status System

The General Social Structure
vii

53
57

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTSContinued
Chapter

Page
The Limiting Factors: Group Size, Population Density,
Territorial Arrangement
The Parameters: Sex, Age, Kinship, and Locality . .
The Parisero Sodality: Size, Privileges, Duties ...
The Structural Principles
^

The Norms
Introduction
Pilato
Kapitan
Flautero and Tampalero
Sargento and Kabo
Gapakoba
The Underlying Rules
Other Easter Sodalities
Material Apparatus, the System of Symbols of Status . . .
Introduction
Pilato
Kapitan
Kabo
Flautero and Tampalero
5apakoba
General Parisero Apparatus
Head and Face Coverings
General Apparatus
The Activities
Introduction
The List of Activities
The Six Friday Processions
Holy Week Activities
Ritual Symbols of the Easter Ceremonial

63
69
71
77
81
81
97
114
119
122
129
162
173
190
190
192
196
196
197
198
206
209
220
244
244
251
254
277
299

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTSContinued
Chapter

Page

IV. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF INITIATION CEREMONIES

318

Introduction, Ego Identity

318

The Assumptions and Hypotheses of the Psychological

Explanation
Whiting's First Set of Assumptions and Hypothesis . .
The First Set of Relevant Mayo Data
Whiting's Second and Third Hypotheses
The Second Set of Relevant Mayo Data

322
322
328
334
338

General Evaluation of the Psychological Explanation .. . .

341

V. SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF INITIATION CEREMONIES

356

Introduction, Social Identity .

356

Two Models of Sociological Identity

363

Status Dramatization, Young

The Mayo Data
Conclusions
Social-Emotional Anchorage, Cohen

363
366
371
374

The Functions of the Easter Ceremonial in Social Identity

383

VI. CONCLUSION: THE BANARI EASTER CEREMONIAL AS A

WORLD VIEW

403

GLOSSARY

431

LIST OF REFERENCES

'

440

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure

Page

1. Map of Northwest Mexico

4Z2

2. Kalbario, The First Way of the Cross

423

3. The Second Way of the Cross, for Holy Week

....

4. The Capakoba Mask

424
425

5. The Parisero Social Structure

426

6. The Banari Easter Social Structure

427

7. Interrelation of the Rules of the Ceremonial

428

8. Code for the Activities Section . . .

429

9. The Incongruity Figures of Berlyne

430

ABSTRACT
This dissertation focuses upon an integrated body of data used
in analyzing and evaluating differing theories which attempt to explain
the structure and function of initiation ceremonies and the processes of
enculturation and socialization. The first section briefly sketches the
Easter ceremonial of the Mayo Indians of Banari, Sonora, Mexico, and
introduces its chief sodality, the Pariserom. The second section ana
lyzes the ceremonial in terms of a modified concrete isolate according
to Malinowski, including extensive discussion of the myth, social struc
ture, social organization, material apparatus (systems of symbols of

status), activities (event systems), and ritual symbols of the Banari

Easter ceremonial. This section of analysis indicates that a large per
centage of young Mayo men participate in the ceremonial for three years
as 6apakobam, masked ritual impersonators and lowest ranking members
of the Parisero sodality. The norms, material apparatus, activities, and
ritual symbols are shown to add evidence to this concept of the cere
monial as an initiation ritual. The third section considers psychological
explanations of initiation in relation to this Mayo ceremonial. Although
this type of explanation does yield additional insight into the personality
integration taking place during the Mayo ceremonial, the previous formu
lations of psychological explanations are inadequate in the Mayo case.
xi

The fourth section examines sociological explanations of initiation and

concludes that the Easter ceremonial functions positively in the building
of a Mayo ethnic identity, although again the specific formulations of
sociological explanations of initiation are inadequate. The last section
demonstrates that the Easter ceremonial also presents the Mayo world
view and aids in the cultural identification with this specific set of
Mayo values and explanations especially of the nature of life and death.
In a model based on binary oppositions and their mediators we have the
basis for the comparison of the three types of explanation: 1) person
ality integration involves a mediation between past and present, the
stable and changing aspects of the personality and between male and
female identity; 2) social identity, a mediation of "we" and "they"
and of egalitarian and hierarchical-authoritarian structural principles;
and 3) cultural identity, a mediation of life and death, light and dark,
society and nature, and health and sickness. Described as "confession
for the pueblo, "the role of the Capakobam (the ritual impersonators)
and the Pariserom in general, is ambiguous. They both protect the
customs, and therefore the Mayo way of life, and also crucify Christ
and pantomime extremely tabooed and sacred aspects of Mayo life be
cause they are not quite human, are anomalous, and therefore "know
no shame. " In conclusion, it is suggested that this type of initiation
ceremony occurs in a tribal or small-scale egalitarian society in intensive

contact with a modern nation-state. The data presented within the

dissertation should provide a basis for more extensive controlled com
parisons and evaluation of this hypothesis.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The Problem
This dissertation presents and analyzes the B&nari Mayo Easter
ceremonial. Banari is a ceremonial center and village of Mayo Indians
living in the lower Mayo River Valley Sonora, northwest Mexico (see
Fig. 1). During Lent each year Mayos living in this area converge upon
the small Banari native church in order to produce the Easter ceremonial.
The sodality chiefly in charge of the production of the ceremonial is
known as the Pariserom or the Army of Pilate. During the weeks of Lent
they play the part of the pursuers of Jesus, who the Mayos believe lived
in the Mayo River Valley as he did in all parts of the world. Then during
Easter week they symbolically crucify Jesus and in turn are destroyed
themselves. In Lent the Pariserom take over many of the political and
ceremonial functions which during the rest of the year rightfully belong
to other organizations or ceremonial sodalities. When the Pariserom are
destroyed and the participants have been baptised, becoming men again,
the secular and church organizations regain the power which they had
lost to the Pariserom.
1

The general problem, as formulated in my research proposal, is

as follows. The dissertation will focus upon an examination of the Mayo
Easter ceremonial and its chief sodality as an enculturating and social
izing mechanism. Evidence will be assembled to show the functional
importance of this ceremonial in the development of a sense of Mayo ego,
social, and ethnic identity. Recent theoretical positions explaining
development of male identity by Whiting, Kluckhohn and Anthony (1958),
of socio-emotional anchorage or group identity by Young (1965) and Cohen
(1964a, 1964b) and of ritual identity by Gluckman (1962) and Turner
(1964) will be evaluated within the context of this body of data.
The method of treatment involves the description of a set of
phenomena which is a member of a class. The data or phenomena are
based upon observations of the Banari Mayo Easter ceremonial during
Springs 1961 and 1965 and intensive discussions with Mayo friends.
Also for comparative understandings, published sources for Mayos,
Yaquis, and Pueblos as well as observations of the Arizona Yaqui Easter
ceremonial in Pascua have been considered (Beals 1943, 1945; Dozier
1954, 1961, 1966; E. Spicer 1940, 1954, 1958, 1961; R. Spicer 1939).
The description of the data includes the following sections: The charter,
the personnel or the system of statuses, the norms or the system of roles,
the material apparatus or symbols of status, the activities, and the
ritual symbols. At this level numerous minimal hypotheses are examined.

Perhaps the most important suggests that the Banari Easter ceremonial is
a member of a class of ceremonials called initiation ceremonies, or more
specifically rites of passage. With the verification of this specific
hypothesis more general hypotheses concerning the function of initiation
ceremonies may be evaluated. This follows closely scientific procedure
as suggested by Radcliffe-Brown (1952:1).
The second section of the dissertation involves an examination of
theories of initiation and of the logical connection between the analytical
conceptsofthetheori.es. Each theory (psychological, sociological, and
culturological) is examined first in terms of its analytical concepts,
second in reference to concrete reality (the Banari Easter ceremonial), and
third in terms of its logical interconnectedness. Within each of these
three sections minimal hypotheses are delineated and evaulated, for
example one might hypothesize that the appearance of masked performers
in the Easter ceremonial heightens and intensifies the enculturating ex
perience or that masked behavior provides neophyte insight to specific
cultural categories and social roles. This hypothesis also has a verifi
able psychological mechanism in the concepts of curiosity and arousal.
Recent research (Berlyne 1966a, 1966b) indicates that surprising and
ambiguous stimuli produce heightened levels of arousal which actually
aid in learning. Other such minimal hypotheses are examined in this
second section of the dissertation. Thus the Easter ceremonial is

explained through the examination of these three general theories of ini

tiation. Part of the last section, in the form of suggestions for further
research, places this Banari Easter ceremonial in a broader context.
The data presented within the dissertation will be useful in an
integrated history of ceremonialism in this area of the world. As Ander
son (1955) has remarked, this area of Northwest Mexico is key in the
reconstruction of the ceremonial interrelations between the Pueblos and
areas further south in Mexico. This dissertation may contribute to such
a historical study; however, the dissertation does not attempt the his
torical study but rather focuses upon only the Bcinari ceremonial. The
belief is that once the data are available the historical study will be
possible. Here we suggest the idiographic study, but, in the disserta
tion, concern ourselves with the nomothetic analysis (see RadcliffeBrown 195 2: i86).
The Method
Certainly the purposes of this dissertation are manifold; however,
the two most important directions of development involve first an inte
grated description of an extremely complex ceremonial and second, a dis
cussion and evaluation of differing functional explanations useful in the
understanding of a ceremonial. We will conceive of both the ceremonial
and the explanations as models. The ceremonial represents the Mayo
model, or part of the Mayo model, of the universe. Embodied within and

symbolized by the ceremonial are the rules for the social relations among
individual Mayos, between Mayos and the supernaturals, and between
Mayos and the natural world, as well as Mayo theories of society, of
the basic nature of man (personality), and of the structure of the universe
(world view). On the other hand, the explanations of the ceremonial
represent the intellectualized models of the social scientist, All models
are to some degree successful and to some degree inadequate. The
main theoretical concern of this monograph is to point out just where
each model is successful and where each is inadequate in the explana
tion and understanding of the meaning and function of the Mayo Easter
ceremonial and the main sodality which is responsible for its production,
the Pariserom. The psychological model reduces the ceremonial to a
mechanism for the reduction of hostility built into the human animal by
certain types of child rearing practices. The sociological model explains
the ceremonial as symbolizing the collective consciousness, collective
unity, of the social group. The ceremonial is a manifestation in more
readily perceivable terms of the social structure, the system of statuses,
and of the social organization, the system of roles. The ceremonial
therefore provides an opportunity for the society to introduce persons to
new statuses, to train or socialize young persons or initiates, and to
build into the individual social identity with a role or a social segment.
In other words, by participating in a ceremonial, one socially becomes

a Mayo. He learns to identify with and accept the social structure, roles,
and social organization which is symbolized, made manifest, in the cere
monial. The culturological model conceives of the ceremonial as a mani
festation of the Mayo model, or way of life. Through symbolization an
otherwise chaotic world becomes meaningful and understandable for the
Mayo. Life is not something simply lived but through symbolism becomes
a meaningful experience. Suffering, disappointment, anguish, and
anxiety as well as good health and happiness become bearable and
understandable when they have a part within an integrated model of the
universe. The ceremonial is a symbolic representation, a way of learn
ing and understanding, as well as a method of objectification of the
implicit model for the latent purpose of Mayo discussion and analysis
of that which otherwise would be obscure. In summary, our main pur
poses will be the evaluation of these three types of explanation within
the context of a carefully described ceremonial, the Banari Mayo Easter
ceremonial, and of its chief sodality, the Pariserom.
Our purpose will not be the specific rejection of any one or two
of the three types of explanation but rather an attempt to evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses of all three. Therefore, our interests, or
methodological frame, will sweep out an area extending from very minute
bits of behavior, such as placing a twig of small flowers on a wooden
cross, through the complex interrelationships of behavior and idea

making up the ceremonial to an evaluation of the usefulness of different

types of explanation of the function and meaning of the ceremonial and
of ceremonials in general. We will proceed inductively, from the observa
ble social and cultural contexts occurring during the ceremonial, in de
veloping our anthropological model of the ceremonial. On the other hand,
our procedure will be more deductive in the sections where we. compare
and contrast the anthropological model with the three explanatory models.
From the basic parameters of each of the explanations we will deduce
additional values and examine the strengths and weaknesses of these
values in terms of their fit with the anthropological model of the cere
monial . From this broadest view point we hold a position very similar
to Bronowski's (1967) concept that at its basis science is a creative
activity ties to the "real" world through its model building. At the most
general level we are seeking insight into alternative theories of explana-^
tion or as Cohen (1966:360) spys in the summary of his article, "Alterna
tive View of the Individual": "The explication of divergent points of
view should not be ends in themselves but should encourage us to seek
out more alternatives so that we can profitably explore other types of
problems."

CHAPTER n
_

THE tJANARI MAYO EASTER CEREMONIAL

At Banari, a local ceremonial center and community of some 400

permanent Mayo and mestizo residents, the Easter ceremonial or Lenten
season includes seven weeks of complex ceremonialism. Generally the
Bcinari ceremonial is quite similar to the Mayo ceremonies further up the
Mayo River Valley (Beals 1945) and to the Yaqui ceremonies (E. Spicer
1940, 1954, R. Spicer 1939, and Painter 1955). In general theme and
form, it is similar to Lenten ceremonials all over Latin America, es
pecially in other areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and the Andes region of
South America. (See Toor 1947)
The Bcinari Easter ceremonial involves the following events:
I.

First six Friday afternoons of Waresma (Lent), Way of the Cross

procession, (see Fig. 2) ending just as the sun sets.

II.

Holy Week
Sunday, the capture of an old man by the Pariserom.
Early in Holy Week the old man is escorted by the Pariserom from
house to house to collect gifts (lim6snas) for the developing
ceremonial.
Wednesday evening, the Tinieblas ceremony in which twelve
candles are extinguished and relit.
Thursday afternoon, the "running" of the old man ( ? O ? ola) around
the Way of the Cross (see Fig. 3), by the Pariserom.
8

Friday afternoon, the symbolic crucifixion of Jesus by the

Pariserom, and two processions around the Way of the Cross
later Friday evening, the first with the image of Christ in an
elaborately flowered coffin, and the second a split procession
in which Christ and Mary meet.
Saturday morning, the symbolic burning of the Pariserom and their
becoming men again through baptism.
Sunday morning, the meeting of the resurrected Christ and Mary
and the return of Christ to the church, thus ending Lent
(Waresma).
These events are articulated by the myth of Jesus' life of curing and
travel in the Mayo River Valley, his capture by the Pariserom in the forest,
his crucifixion along the river, the burning of the Pariserom and Christ's
return from the dead. The following is a more detailed and integrated
introductory description of these events.
In BSnari as well as in other Rio Mayo pueblos, the Sunday before
Ash Wednesday reveals small groups of young and middle aged men form
ing under a ramada beside or close by the native Mayo church. We saw
them meeting in Banari and Arocosi and were told that other such meetings
would be going on in Bajeye, Tecu, Sialipacu Viejo, San Rafael, and
Caccacu. These groups represent formal planning sessions for the coming
seven weeks of intense ceremonial labor. Unless one had been told, or
unless he understood Mayo and was following the conversations or knew
the persons involved, he probably would not realize that these men made
up the membership of one of the most important Mayo ceremonial sodalities,
the Pariserom, and that for the young men, this was to be one of their

most memorable experiences as Mayos. Large numbers of additional Mayos

from the local area would be drawn into the production of a ritual drama
in which mythical time becomes the present and Christ is pursued, cruci
fied, descends to the world of the dead, and returns again on Easter
Sunday endiftg the ceremonial. If any additional initiation or rituals
were involved in this first meeting, we did not observe it; however, we
were told that the Pariserom run to the ocean. Ash Wednesday the Paskome
(ceremonial hosts), acting for the people of the area, go to the Camalobo
(mestizo center) Roman Catholic Church for the traditional worship service.
There is no special observation in the Banari church.
The First Six Friday Afternoons of Lent
For the first six Fridays of Lent, the First Way of the Cross
(Fig. 2) is set up by the Paskome and the Pariserom. In order to separate
O
it from the other ways of the cross it is called konti bo o batweSi (the road
of the cross going towards the river). Each Friday morning of Lent, the
Paskome (people who are responsible for putting on the ceremonial in con
junction with the Pariserom) sweep the church and this Way of the Cross,
Kalbario (Calvary), using a bundle of twigs as a broom, and decorate
the crosses with greenery and flowers, especially the three crosses at
the end, also called Kalbario. During the remaining part of the year,
outside of Lent, they go through this same ritual on Sundays, sweeping
in this case the church and the circular area around the church and

decorating the church bells, cross, and saint's images with green leaves,
**abaso sewa (cottonwood leaves). Thus by early afternoon when others
begin to gather for the Friday konti (procession) the Kalbario (Way of the
Cross) has been prepared.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon one begins to hear the pound
ing of drums and throughout the Mayo River Valley lines of fcapakobam
(masked, lowest ranking members of the Parisero sodality) appear out of
the fields with their hairy masks. They are running towards the Mayo
church in their area. The masks, made of goat (iba) hide with the long
white, black, or brown hair side out, give a very hairy appearance. The
mask is a helmet type fitting over the whole head down to the shoulders
(see Fig. 4a, 4b). They have long, narrow pointed ears, a rather long
pointed nose, and a face area cleared of hair and painted eyes and mouth.
A few have delicately carved wooden faces which are attached to the
hide part. While worn, the mask may assume two positions: One, seen
in all ritual contexts, is completely covering the man's face; the second,
seen while Capakobam are resting, is a tilted back position with the front
bottom edge of the mask resting on the man's forehead. The (Sapakoba
also wears a long white embroidered cloth covering his head and all of
his face except the nose and eyes, so that when the mask is tilted back
it is possible only to see the man's eyes and nose and the white cloth.
The Gapakobam carry wooden knives and swords which they clack together

to attract attention. Some carry small double headed drums as well as

other individual paraphernalia, e.g. violins, small wooden male phalli,
toy guns.
As each group of bapakobam arrives at the church in Banari, led
by a Parisero officer, they split into two lines, and run the Way of the
Cross to the end, Kalbario. At Kalbario, one line encircles the church
in a clockwise direction and the other lines goes in a counter-clockwise
direction, konti (a surrounding). Then they run back to the church, en
circle it, and return to Kalbario. After running the complete circuit three
times, they tilt back their masks and rest behind the church, smoking
and chatting. While they are relaxing one of the officers of the Pariserom
makes a short speech to the men (Sapakobam) and takes a collection of
money from the membership. During this rest period, others are clowning.
While the Pariserom are arriving and running around, Kalbario
activities are also going on beside and within the church the Bahl Mariam,
consisting of children between five and eight years of age, and their god
mothers, are gathering. From 2 until around 3 p.m., the madrinas (cere
monial mothers, godmothers) tear flowers apart and put the petals in
handkerchiefs which their godchildren are to carry in the procession.
Also, they put petals in a large blue cloth which one of the Paskome
(ceremonial host) will carry in the procession. They also weave crowns
of flowers for their godchildren to wear In the procession. Around 3 p.m.

they begin to take their godchildren into the church. Each child goes to
the right altar where he picks up a hipfehtam (woven cane mat) and then
the boys go to the worshippers' left side of the church and kneel on the
hipehtam, and the girls to the right side and also kneel, with the madrinas
standing behind the children.
While the first children are entering the church, a Parisero flutist
plays a long, forlorn and deeply compelling solo to the image, the cruci
fix, which is to be carried in the procession. This is a form of praying.
After the flutist finishes, two )apakobam with white masks stand with
their long swords or lances crossed in front of the altar. They keep the
other 6apakobam who are now clowning in the church away from the
altar, chasing away any who challenge them. Also, during this time,
the bapakobam are teasing the children and tempting them with tomatoes,
money, bread, etc. If the children begin to waver, the madrinas poke
or call to them.
As more and more women and children arrive, the 6apakobam
embark upon a more complex pattern of burlesque, especially focusing
upon some of the most sacred Mayo customs, such as marriage, sexual
intercourse, and curing. Then a black masked fiapakoba with a long
wand with a doll's foot on the end bounces the foot along the ground
until it hits the "patient." He us cured and rises up slowly with two
6apakobam helping him on either side. This whole set of behavior was
repeated several more times within the church.

Later in the afternoon around 4:30, the Gapakobam who were rest
ing pull down their masks over their faces. One grasps the sword of his
neighbor, and two long lines of them are lead to the front of the church.
The lines lead directly away from the two sides of the front door, form
ing a corridor between the church door and the bells and church cross
complex (see Fig. 2). Also, during this time, the Parisero officers have
been gathering behind the church. They line up with a flutist and a
drummer in the first row, two sword men (Kapit&nes) on the outsides of
the second row and two Pllatom on the inside with red banners, and four
Gapakobam following. The Pilato is the highest ranking Parisero officer
and the Kapitan is second in rank. This group marches around to the front
of the church and into it.
Also about this time the Maestro (lay minister), the Cantoras
(women singers) and Paskome begin to assemble for the short ceremony
before the procession. After the prayers of the Maestro, the images, a
Crucifix and Mary, are lifted from the altar. Then the procession forms
with the Paskome carrying the crucifix first, the Maestro and the Cantoras
second, the image of Mary, third, the Bahi Mariam next, and finally the
women of the pueblo. Heading the procession in front of the Paskome
come the Parisero officers.
When the procession arrives at the stations of the cross, the
Maestro reads a service and prays, and the Cantoras sing. As the

15

service ends, flowers are thrown, the members of the procession cross
themselves, stand, and move on to the next station.
As the procession leaves the first station, the Gapakobam rush
into the church and come out with flowers which they have taken from the
altars, from the saints, and from Jesus. During the procession, the
Capakobam also clown, the "dance" Pask6la, play violins, play with
dead snakes, etc. They also observe that the ceremony is done properly.
At the thirteenth station when the service is over, everyone, especially
the Pariserom, run to the fourteenth station, Kalbario. At this point,
there is a rather lengthy service by the Maestro and Cantoras and then
the procession returns to the church. Soon the bapakobam are running
home. When they get a little distance from the church, they tilt back
their masks and run on through the fields. Until next Friday, they will
go about the ordinary business of Mayo life. Then they will again run
to the church as Capakobam. On the fourth and fifth Fridays, some may
go to house ceremonies, called resting Christ. Each of the six Friday
processions are slightly different in form; however, the above description
is adequate for them all in general.
On the last Friday before Holy Week, after the konti at Kalbario,
the crosses of this Way of the Cross are pulled up by the Paskome. As
all returned to the church after this last Friday procession, the sixth
o
( ultimo konti, the last konti), a great expression of relief and relaxation

16

spread over the procession. Mayos, who at first were semi-friendly and
not overly nervous, had become during the six weeks, increasingly tense
and nervous. However, with the completion of this sixth Friday proces
sion, even though the entire Holy Week was to follow, a great deal of
the tension and nervousness seemed to disappear. In many ways, then,
with the completion of the six Fridays, some of the most difficult part
of the Banari Easter ceremonial has been fulfilled for another year.
Holy Week
Saturday and Palm Sunday are quiet in Banari in contrast to their
Yaqui neighbors who hold a Palm Sunday fiesta (R. Spicer 1939 and E.
Spicer 1940, 1954). Mayos desiring palm crosses or blessed palm
strips go to the main Roman Catholic Church in Camalobo. Both Mayos
and mestizos may place two small splints of the palm tied in the form of
a cross over the doorway of their house as a protection against illness
or misfortune.
The Capture of the

O ? ola, Sunday

Also on Sunday, the Pariserom go to the home of a very respected

old man. There is a ceremony in which the ? O 9 ola is captured presota
benasi (like a prisoner). On Monday and Tuesday of Easter week the
? O ? ola is taken from house to house by the Pariserom in order to collect
limosnas (offerings) for the coming week of ceremonialism. The old man
is said to represent Christ.

17

Tinieblas. Wednesday
Wednesday evening is the celebration of Tinieblas, the ceremonial
extinction of twelve candles representing the apostles and the Bahi Mariam
(Three Maries), and the relighting of new fire. Around dusk, the Pariserom
with the ^O^ola and his companions begin to gather at a house which has
been vacated for the ceremony. The house is positioned directly across
the plaza from the church. From this location around 9 p.m. they move
in a body into the church. The candles are lit and a long set of prayers
and responses are chanted by the Maestro and the Cantoras, and counted
on the beads of their rosaries by the Paskome. After the prayers, the
Cantoras begin to sing, the flutist to play his flute, and the Sapakobam
to play their drums and march around the Parisero officers in the center.
Then a set of short prayers follows in which the candles are extinguished
one by one. When all the lights go out the Capakobam begin to yell, and
everyone is extremely frightened.

Soon the Maestro begins to pray and

the Sacristan lights a match. With the first light the fiapakobam thunder
from the church. One has the distinct feeling that something very powerful
and awe inspiring has forced them out of the church. During this ceremony,
no whipping was observed, either inside or outside the church, as is the
Yaqui custom (R. Spicer 1939).
After praying in the Campo Santo (cemetery) the Pariserom with
the ? O ? ola retire to the house across the plaza from the church. All

18

night long, they keep the

O ? ola awake by feeding him and giving him

coffee to drink.
"Running" of the ''o^ola, Thursday
By Thursday afternoon, a Second Way of the Cross, this time
around the church (konti bo^o tiopota Nikola), has been set up. It con
sists of eight stations with three long branches stuck in the ground arched
over the cross and a cross with a larger bower over it', located in front of
the church (see Fig. 3).
Between 4 and 5 Thursday afternoon, the Pariserom bring the
?

O ?ola from their house across the plaza to the church. After a short

service, the procession leaves the church and takes the old man to the
large bower and cross in front of the church. After additional ritual,
one Pilato calls to the old man and the procession starts around the
Second Way of the Cross. At each of the eight small bowers with a cross
the ? O ?ola kneels on one knee facing out with his back to the cross.
Also the young man dressed in a white turban pulls a rope in from the
fiapakobam.

This rope (wikosa bwa^e) is attached to the waist of the

?ola and symbolizes the belt placed on a deceased Mayo. When the
o o
^
O ola gets up, the apostle (apostol) throws the red tasseled rope high
into the air behind them, and the 6apakobam grab it and pull against Jthe
madrinas (female ceremonial kin) who are also holding the rope and pro
tecting the

''ola against the pulling of the Gapakobam. Other madrinas

o
O ola have long cane (baka) switches which they use to drive off
o o
the Gapakobam when they lunge towards the O ola trying to knock him
of the

down. The madrinas strike very hard in anger, often breaking their baka
switches. This goes on until the procession reaches the next little
bower with a cross where the rope is pulled in and the ? O ?ola kneels.
Although a madrina is knocked down in one skirmish, the ? O?ola is not.
But when we return to the church, everyone speaks as if he has been
and that he is now dead. He has fallen like Jesus when he carried the
cross. After the procession returns to the church, there is a short service.
Then, the ^O^ola and the madrinas go to the house of the Pariserom.
Around 6:30 p.m. the Pariserom enter the church and the second
procession of the afternoon forms and moves around the Way of the Cross
in a counter-clockwise direction. We were told this procession was for
Mary. It is divided into two sections, 1) the large and small crucifixes
O
O
( Itom ASai. Our Father) and all but one of the Maestros, and 2) the
image of Mary and one Maestro. The Pariserom split in half. Each section
of the procession is led by two Pilatos on horseback. The Pilatos have
their faces and hats covered with pink and red cloths and carry red ban
ners . They ride their prancing horses with great skill and give the
procession a very majestic tone. After services at each of the eight
stations, the procession returns to the church and soon the Pariserom
return to their house across the plaza from the church, ending the ceremony

20

for Thursday for most participants. The Pariserom, however, spend the
night in prayer.
The Crucifixion, Good Friday
Good Friday morning and early afternoon, the Pariserom led by a
Pilato on horseback and a Kapitan on foot run to the Mayo homes and pull
up the house patio crosses, tebatpo kurusim. Also, during this time, a
white wooden coffin is being decorated by both Mayo and mestizo individuo
als, on the porch of the church. The Mayo Mo oro (the assistant to the
Maestro and director of the Paskome) is in charge, with several Paskome
and a group of mestizo women pinning beautiful large flowers on the white
wicker work arbor over the coffin. On Good Friday afternoon, activities
O
are going on within the church also. An abaso (cottonwood) bower is
constructed near the door of the church, and late in the afternoon two
children with flower crowns in their heads and two crucifixes are placed
within the bower. One of the crucifixes is a life-sized one with an image
of Christ whose arms fold from the cross position to a position along his
body. A rectangle marked by a low earth mound around its edges is con
structed in the center of the church to represent the tomb. And when com
pleted, the decorated coffin is placed in the tomb.
Soon the Pariserom march across the plaza from the house where
they have been resting up from their running to remove the house crosses.
On a signal from within the church, the Pilatom proceed slowly and

dramatically into the church and one strikes into the bower with a sword.
This act symbolizes the crucifixion. Several men solemnly remove the
large image from the cross, fold its ms, and place it in the coffin
within the earth mound. For the next several hours during the growing
twilight and fall of darkness, the Mass of the Dead is performed within
the church. As the mass comes to an end, candles are lit in the front of
the church. Each person lights his candle from a neighbor, so that the
fire passes from the front of the church to all areas of the church and
then out through the doors so that finally the large crowd that has assembled
are all holding lighted candles. The procession which follows is split into
O
two seas of flickering candles, the group with the image of Mary ( Itom
? Ave) following the one with the coffin and bare crucifixes ( ? Itom ?Aftai).
Also, the Pariserom have split so that several Pilatom on horseback prance
ahead of each of the two units of the procession. This procession moves
around the Second Way of the Cross. It stops at the eight bowers for
services and ends back at the church.
After several hours, a second procession forms. In this procession,
the unit of Our Father ( ? Itom ? Aai) makes a counter-clockwise circuit
around the Way of the Cross. The second unit, that of ? Itom ?Aye (Our
Mother), begins a clockwise circuit; however, half way around the two
processions meet. The image of Mary and the bare crucifixes confront
o
each other and ideally bow three times. Then the procession of Itom

Aye combines with that of ?' Itom ?ASai and they continue around the Way

of the Cross in a counter-clockwise direction and return to the church.

Many people, Mayo and mestizo, have made promises to remain in the
church all night Friday. During this night, the Pariserom will make sure
nobody at the church falls asleep.
Gloria, the Burning and the Baptism. Saturday
Early Saturday morning, between 3 and 4 a.m., the church bells
are rung. "Christ has arisen." The house crosses, tebatpo kurusim, are
replaced and decorated with red flowers, and the Second Way of the Cross
removed. As the sun moves up into the sky and the air warms up, the
Pariserom prepare for their last ritual appearance. Just before noon in
the heat of the day, they proceed to the church in their traditional formation. The officials of the Parisero organization (Pilatom, Kapitanes,
Flauterom EflutistsU, Kabos Ecorporals3), as well as some 6apakobam
enter the church. The officials kneel behind a curtain which separates the
altar area from the rest of the church. The remaining Gapakobam form two
lines which run from the curtain out the door of the church and across the
church plaza. Each line kneels facing towards the other, leaving about
a 30' wide corridor running down the center. Each of the Pariserom is
accompanied by a godmother and a godfather (batoaye and batoa&ai).
The godparents fan the Pariserom and aid in removing their masks, blankets,
and ritual clothing. At this time, it is said that the Pariserom are burning

up. Also, during this time, a group of several white masked Sapakobam,
several ^Alawasim (lowest rankinq Paskome), and several Mayo dance
specialists run three times from behind the curtain in front of the altar,
down the corridor of lines of &apakobam, to the area directly in front of
the church patio cross (kurus vo^owe) and bells fkampanim) where they
strike the earth with long switches. As they run, they shout "gloria!",
the church bells ring, and everyone in the crowd throws yellow and red
flowers, the colors associated with the church saint, the Holy Trinity,
Santfsima Tiniran. The burning of the Pariserom and the running of this
group symbolizes the final loss of power of the Pariserom and the return
to power of the Church and of Christ.
Soon, one of the Mayo Maestros comes out from behind the curtain
and proceeds down the line of kneeling Pariserom who have their faces to
the ground and their shirts pulled up, exposing their bare backs. The
Maestro is holding a bowl with water in it in one hand, and a twig of
mesquite which is just beginning to flower, in the other. With each man,
Parisero, he asks the godparents if this is their godchild. When they
answer yes, he dips the twig in the water and shakes some on to the man's
back. This baptizing of the Pariserom makes them into men again. The
godparents take the Pariserom up to the altar to pray. Then, they go to
the church cross, kneel, and pray. At this time, each godparent places a
new rosary around their godchild's neck. Then, the baptized bapakobam

24

take their masks, swords, knives, and other wooden paraphernalia and
throw them on a large bonfire about one. hundred feet from one side of
the church. Now the semi-professional Mayo dancers and entertainers,
the Paskola and deer dancers, take over for the remainder of the day. The
Matattinl dance sodality, associated with the church organization, also
dances.
Meeting of Christ and Mary, Easter Sunday
Early Sunday morning, the sacred corridor between the church and
the paskola dance ramada is prepared by the Pariserom. By this time,
they have on ordinary hats and the colored scarves which their godparents
gave them during the baptism ceremony the day before. A mesquite switch
and the scarf tied on the upper arm identify the young men as former
Capakobam and Pariserom.
The sacred way between the church and the paskola ramada is
O
swept and lined with leaves, twigs of cottonwood tree ( abaso sewa)
and the former Capakobam guard the way with their switches to make
sure nobody steps upon it or drives a wagon or car across it. It is on

this sacred way that Mary ('Itom

Aye, Our Mother) will meet the risen

Christ (t Itom ? A&ai, Our Father) around noon. Late in the morning, two
processions form at opposite ends of the sacred way, the one of 2 Itom
o

Afiai, with the former Pariserom at the paskola ramada and the one of

? Itom ? Aye, with the church groups, Maestrom, and Paskome of the

Santisima Tiniran at the church. Both processions proceed part way down
the sacred way and then stop some fifty feet before coming together. A
young man then takes the image of San Tuan (Saint John) and runs three
times between Mary and Christ, announcing to Mary that Christ has
arisen. Finally, with the third run, Mary is convinced and the two processions converge with much bowing on the part of the images ( omom
O
ibaktia, they embrace one another). During each run, the crowd has
been throwing confetti and breaking hollow eggs with confetti in them.
At the instant of embracing, the former fcapakobam, who were standing
in two long lines at the edges of the sacred way, turn and run around the
church, one line in a clockwise direction and the other in a counter
clockwise direction. When they meet behind and in front of the church,
they try to strike each other with their long switches. After running
around three times, they break their switches and run into the church,
throwing them on the roof as they enter. The processions also return
to the church. Soon, another procession is formed and leaves the church
with the images of Christ and Mary. This procession goes around the
church in a counter-clockwise direction and is referred to as the last
procession (ultimo konti). The procession then returns to the church
and the Paskolas and deer dancer return to the paskola ramada for addi
tional dancing. Some of the women, Bahi Mariam, have been gathering
under the side porch of the church, and as the former Pariserom leave

26

the church, they are fed bread and coffee. This feeding is important, as
the young men have been on a long trip.
Soon the visiting Paskome say goodby and leave for their own
church, and the deer and Paskolas stop dancing and gather up their instru
ments. Thus, by early afternoon, the ceremonial is officially complete
and Lent is over for another year.

CHAPTER III
THE ANALYSIS
Introduction
To this point the Easter Ceremonial has been described in a time
order sequence, following events as they actually occur during this seven
weeks of intense activity. This is a useful procedure in attempting to
gain superficial, yet wholistic understanding of any ceremonial, espe
cially the ceremonial as a drama. In this way, we gain an introductory
overview. In seeking an understanding of the functions of the ceremonial,
a more analytical model for its description in detail will prove more useful.
In the "concrete isolate" a provisional analytical model developed by
Malinowski (1944: 47-53) we have a tool, useful in analyzing the Mayo
Easter Ceremonial. The concrete isolate gives us a basis both for
dividing an activity, in our case a ceremonial, into smaller, more
easily analyzable units or categories, and also for understanding the
interrelationships between these categories which in turn make up the
activity (ceremonial). Malinowski (1944:50) defines the concrete iso
late as: "a group of people united for the pursuit of a simple or complex
activity; always in possession of a material endowment and a technical
outfit; organized on a definite legal or customary charter, linguistically
27

n
formulated in myth, legend, rule, and maxim; and trained or prepared for
the carrying out of its task." The units or categories and their inter
relationships Malinowski (1944:53) illustrates in the following manner:

'CHARTER.
PERSONNEL

NORMS

\MATERIAL APPARATUS/
i

ACTIVITIES
1
FUNCTION
The CHARTER is the embodiment of the myths and the general
values or orientations which are the basis or stand behind the activity
or work which the group accomplishes. It defines the purposes and aims.
The charter may be formalized and written or it may be transmitted in
oral literature, folklore, songs, etc. It may be very simple, as for
example, the case of the pig ceremony of the Kapauku Papuans of West
New Guinea, in which the charter is little more than the hope of enhancing
the reputation of the village and thus the accomplishment of a "patriotic
and moral" activity (Pospisil 1963:72). Or it may be very complex, as in
the Mayo case, involving intricate fusions or combinations of Christian
and aboriginal mythologies and values. The charter then represents the
inside view, the people's view of the activity. For our purposes the
"Charter" section of this monograph will focus upon an integrated de
scription of the mythology and the basic values of the Mayo Easter
Ceremonial.

The PERSONNEL category includes the individual actors and their

interrelationships, "the group organized on definite principles of authority,
division of functions, and distribution of privileges and duties" (Malinowski 1944:52). An analysis of the social structure, the system of statutes,
of the Easter ceremonial will make up the section on "Personnel."
The NORMS category refers to the set or code of more or less spe
cific rules in contrast to the charter, the general rules or principles. For
Malinowski (1944:52), the norms are "the technical acquired skills, habits,
legal norms, and ethical commands which are accepted by the members or
imposed upon them. " In reference to the Mayo Easter ceremonial, a rule
such as the Pariserom should not drink alcoholic beverages or indulge in
sexual intercourse during Lent is an excellent example of the norm cate
gory. The norms, like the charter, represent an inside view, the Mayo
view, as to how the ceremony ought to take place. Also, in this section,
some idea of the actual working of the norms within the ceremonial, or
the roles, will be given.
Also MATERIAL APPARATUS or artifacts are an important part of the
expression of the charter. By material apparatus, is meant objects made
and used within the context of the activity which the group has organized
to accomplish. Parisero masks, swords, drums, and dress as well as
other artifacts of the Easter ceremonial, such as the "Way of the Cross,"
the church, and Paskome dress, will be described as explicitly as possible

in this section. This description will not be an end in itself, however,

for we will continually have foremost in mind that these material arti
facts are symbols of social status, of the structure of the personnel. In
other words, the symbols function as parts of a social position, of a
social status. These symbols are manifest in the material apparatus
which is an aspect of the status and are used by persons in the role asso
ciated with the social position. Thus, we will analyze and conceive
material apparatus as symbols of status.
With the charter defining the goal, the norms specifying the means,
the structured personnel, whose organization is symbolized by the material
apparatus, the group is able to carry on ACTIVITIES to accomplish a task
or work, be it sacred or secular. "Organized on the charter, acting
through their social and organized cooperation, following the rules of
their specific occupation, using the material apparatus at their disposal,
the group engaged in the activities for which they have organized"
(Malinowski 1944:53). The activities then represent the actual perform
ance, the integrated ritual. This section of the description of the Easter
ceremonial will involve numerous descriptions of ritual and ceremonies.
Again, as in the last section on material apparatus, this will not involve
description for description's sake, but rather we will be keeping in mind
that activities are rituals of status, or enacted status, or enacted statuses.
The structure of the personnel is manifest in the rituals of status (activities)
and by means of symbols of status (material apparatus).

Finally the whole concrete isolate has a FUNCTION, a purpose to

fulfill within the society in which it exists. The function is "the integral
result of organized activities ..." (Malinowski 1944:53) and is "The
role of that institution within the total scheme of culture" (Malinowski
1944:48). As the charter is the "inside" view of the concrete isolate, the
view of the people themselves, the function is the "outside" view, the
view of the society as a whole functioning unit and the understanding of
the fit of the concrete isolate within this unit. Only when we, as out
side observers, place the concrete isolate as a unit within its sociocultural context and understand the interrelationships, have we reached
the level of function. The evaluation of three explanations of the func
tion of the Easter Ceremonial will involve the latter sections of this
monograph, the sections on the psychological, sociological, and culturological explanations of the function of the Easter ceremonial.
It must be borne in mind that the concrete isolate as described
above is only a provisional model open to any modification which is
useful in terms of the study at hand. Without violating the institutional
integration, we may add the following refinements in the concrete isolate,
refinements useful in the context of this specific study.

32

Charter
Norms
Postulates
Axioms

Personnel

Symbols of Status
(Material Apparatus)

Rituals of Status *
Event Systems
(Activities)
Ritual Symbols
Function

As can be seen from the modified model, the refinements are minor.
The categories of personnel and charter remain essentially the same. First,
we have added postulates and axioms as included in the category of norms
in order to make the meaning of this category more explicit and to focus
upon the underlying rules or assumptions of the ceremonial. Second, we
have chosen to emphasize artifacts as symbols of status, rather than as
material or technological forms. Masks, swords, etc. will be seen not
as traits for study in and of themselves, but as a symbolic manifestation
of the social and cultural structure of the ceremonial. The aim is to under
stand the unique artifact or object of art not as art, but within a context
of social action and of symbolic ritual. In objecting to Malinowski's
disregard of the aesthetic aspects of the material apparatus Leach (1965:12)
makes the same point we wish to emphasize.

33

It seems to me, however, that it is precisely these customary

frills which provide the social anthropologist with his primary
data. Logically, aesthetics and ethics are identical.
(Wittgenstein, Tractatus 6.421) If we are to understand the
ethical rules of a society, it is aesthetics that we must study.
In origin, the details of custom may be an historical accident;
but for the living individuals in a society such details can
never be irrelevant, they are part of the total system of inter
personal communication within the group. They are symbolic
actions, representations.
Thus, the material apparatus helps us gain a symbolic understanding of
the social structure of the ceremonial and of the ritual symbols. Third,
we have chosen to conceive of activities as rituals of status and as
event systems. Since activities associated with the Easter ceremonial
are more sacred than profane, all the behavior (for example the marching
formation, procession formations, prayers, etc.) associated with the
ceremonial seems to qualify as ritual. Before continuing the discussion
of ceremonial activities as ritual, we shall turn another aspect to activi
ties, that is, event systems. When we think of the Easter ceremonial as
activities unfolding through time, a concept such as event system be
comes immediately useful. This concept brings the time variable into
the concrete isolate, which is essentially a static structural model.
Bohannan (1963:359) feels that with this concept, we may be able to talk
about culture change and even evolution within a static structuralfunctional framework.
We can conceive of the Easter ceremonial as an activity or event
system consisting of numerous sub-activities or events subdivided into

smaller sets of behavior, rituals. Thus, for example, each Friday proces
sion can be seen as an event complete within itself on one hand, but on
the other, it is leading up to the climax in Easter Week. As the weeks
move on each Friday Procession is slightly different than the one preceding
it, reflecting the reduction in time span to Easter Week, and placing it
within the developing ceremonial. Also, each Friday procession consists
of numerous smaller sets of behavior or rituals. Thus, as an activity,
we can think of the Easter ceremonial as a complex event system inte
grating a series of sub-activities or events going on during seven weeks.
Also, this event system, the Easter ceremonial, can be conceived
of as a ritual of status, "a symbolic statement which 'says' something
about the individuals involved in the action" (Leach 1965:13). Even
though Leach (1965:X3V) is somewhat extreme in his use of the word
ritual, "we can very usefully think of 'ritual' as an aspect of all be
haviours, namely the communicative aspect," he is pointing out an aspect
of activity (ritual) which we should keep in mind during our analysis of
the Easter ceremonial. Activities are the basis for communication at
many levels, as well as groups organized for the accomplishment of
specific tasks. Part of our analysis of the Easter ceremonial must hold
in mind this communication concept of ritual, this feeling that ritual in
some ways is communication of social status. In this, amongst many
other ways, activities are interrelated with personnel. The structure

of personnel is communicated through the rituals of status. Thus, the

Malinowskian category of activities also will be seen to include sets of
persons structurally related moving through time (marching formations,
processions, prayers, etc.) or event systems as well as systems of
rituals conceived of at least partially as rituals of status.
In examining the concrete isolate within the context of the above,
it became apparent that an additional concept would be useful, i.e. the
ritual symbol. The rituals of status (activities) and symbols of status
(material apparatus) symbolically communicating the structure of status
(personnel) and embodying the norms and charter could be seen as point
ing to a logical, as well as a social, structure. This logical structure I
see as embodied in "ritual symbols" (Turner:1964). Ritual symbols might
be likened to themes of Opler (1945) or orientations of Spicer (1954:175187), but within the logical structure of the ceremonial, rather than part
of the social organization. Easter ceremonial ritual symbols, for example,
might cluster around ideas such as the dead, the power base of the universe, the meeting of

Itom

A&ai and

Itom

Aye ("Our Father" and

"Our Mother"), and sacred times and colors. Ritual symbols are neither
completely of the "inside view" such as the charter nor completely of the
"outside view" such as the function, but involve an intricate combination
of the two. They probably are closer to the outside than the inside view.
Turner (1964:21) feels that ritual symbols can be worked out or inferred
from the following sets of data:

36

(a) External form and observable characteristics.

(b) Interpretations offered
(1) by specialists
(2) by laymen-.
(c) Significant contexts largely worked out by the anthropologist.
In a later section of this monograph, we will examine this heuristic
model in detail when applied to the Easter ceremonial. At this point, we
wish to do little more than introduce the general concept of a ritual sym
bol. In summary, human groups, organized on the basis of the charter
and norms, structured on the basis of ther personnel, through the use
of material apparatus (symbols of status), interact (activity) accomplish
ing tasks. Sets of activities or event systems and rituals of status are
integrated within a logical framework of ritual symbols and function in
diffuse ways. The ritual symbols then provide the logical structural
framework which interrelates the event systems or activities.
If it be objected that this method of reporting and describing the
Banari Mayo Easter ceremonial is too descriptive and non-theoretical,
permit me to suggest several arguments in its behalf. First, the sheer
complexity of the ceremonial would make a simple narrative based upon
sequences in time unbearably long, complex, and unstructured. Second,
the complexity of structural interrelations and cultural linkages making up
the ceremonial cannot be made clear easily in even a complex narrative.
Third, the understanding of a behavior pattern as complex as a ceremonial

necessitates examination from various points of view. Then the insights

gained from each conceptual framework are combined into a full understand
ing of the ceremonial. We mean understanding, both in the sense that the
reader has some idea of the meaning and function of the ritual and symbols
making up the ceremonial, and also in the sense that he can predict the
form and structure of future Easter ceremonials so that he could, if
necessary, instruct the participants and direct a performance which might
begin to approach the Easter ceremonial as it is actuated in Banari. Fourth,
the Banari Easter ceremonial has never been described in the anthropologi
cal literature and, even though I realize there is a trend away from minute
description in modern anthropological monographs, I feel an obligation to
describe, in as much detail as I am capable, the Banari Easter ceremonial
of 1961 and Easter week of 1965. Hopefully, this study in its descriptive
aspect will provide data for future comparative studies, such as a com
parison of Easter ceremonials in Northwest Mexico.
In conclusion, Malinowski's model of the cooperating human group,
the concrete isolate, will provide us with a useful tool for the description
and analysis of the Mayo Easter ceremonial. In turn, we will describe and
analyze the charter or the set of myths, the personnel or the social struc
ture, the norms or the social organization, the material apparatus, and the
activities of the Easter ceremonial. When discussing material apparatus,
we will hold foremost in mind objects as symbols of status, and when

discussing activities, we conceive of behavior as structural event systems

and as ritual of status. Thus, we slightly modify Malinowski's model. We
also have added the category of ritual symbol, an underlying level of com
munication or meaning found in numerous ritual contexts. In this way,
we will describe and analyze the Easter ceremonial as a step in the
delineation of its functions. In examining the functions of the ceremonial,
the last three major sections of the dissertation, we will be in essence
considering several theories or explanations of the function of initiation
ceremonies or rites of passage. The description and analysis of the
Easter ceremonial in terms of this modified concrete isolate model will
set the stage for the evaluation of these explanations.
Als>, one additional point should be made clear. ,As we proceed
in our analysis from the charter and norms to the personnel, the material
apparatus, the activities, the ritual symbols, and finally the functions,
we are moving from an "inside view" into an "outside view," that is to
say, away from the view of the Mayos themselves and closer to the view
of different schools of anthropologists, away from the folk model towards
the "scientific" or anthropological model. We should not then be sur
prised if these models are quite divergent, if the folk have very little
insight into the anthropological explanations or in some cases vice versa.

39

The Charter of the Mavo Easter Ceremonial

In seeing the Easter Ceremonial in a more analytical fashion and
in terms of an integrated model, the concrete isolate, we shall first turn
to the charter. These myths, basic values and goals which stand behind
the ceremonial represent the "inside view," the Banari Mayo's view of
the Easter ceremonial. This charter is difficult to isolate because it
represents a complex fusion or syncretism of aboriginal and Christian
mythologies, values, and world views. Also, Mayos stress observation
and ceremonial participation rather than a great deal of theorizing about
the Easter ceremonial. Thus, the charter which follows has been drawn
from statements made by Mayos during our entire research period and does
not represent a single integrated statement of one person. It is a synthesis
of statements made by Mayos; however, it represents accurately the sort
of integrated statement one might obtain from most Mayos.
Before proceeding to the full myth, several elements should be
mentioned. These elements are parts of the charter that 1) kept coming
up, 2) people were much concerned that we understood, and 3) that numbers
of people seemed to know and were willing to talk about with me. These
might be called charter orientations (see Spicer 1954:175-187), elements
of the charter which are of greatest importance to Mayos. First, we were
often told that the fcapakobam knew no shame and that explained why they
acted as they did. This is why they burlesqued all the sacred aspects of

Mayo culture: they have no shame. This is why they, the men, the imper
sonators, must be baptized, to forgive them for what they have done. They
are made.into men again. Second, we were often told of the capturing and
the running of the ^O^ola, the old man. It was always added that he
represents Christ: he is like Christ, "Kristota benasi." "He is not
Christ, but reminds us that Christ had a body like we do." Third, we
were often told that the complete ceremony was an attempt of the Pariserom
to usurp and control the powers of God. "The Pariserom wish, want, to
rule but ultimately only God, ? Itom ?*Aai, has the power to rule. "
That this charter has great enduring power can be seen in the
fact that although the Banari church was burned in 1926, as were other
Indian churches in Mexico, and the religion suppressed until 1936, the
church was rebuilt. This same compelling power of the Easter charter also
existed for Yaquis and Mayos who fled to the United States in the early
1900's when the Sonoran government was deporting them to Yucatan (see
Spicer 1940). By 1906 (Spicer 1961:77-78) the Easter Ceremonial was re
established in first one and later other resettled Yaqui-Mayo communities
in the United States. Beside the ceremonies associated with deaths, the
Easter ceremonial was the first traditional ceremony to be revived in the
resettled communities. This suggests that the charter or similar charters
of the Easter ceremonial means a great deal both to Yaquis and Mayos.
The following description by one of our Parisero friends of the reestablished

Banari church provides some explanation of the strength of the charter.

Currently, he is serving as one of the church officers.
While I was in the army during one especially terrible
incident, I made a manda (promise). I promised God, ?Itom
?ASai, that I would serve three years as a Parisero, a Capakoba.
When I returned to Mayo country, I went to my old grandmother
and told her of the manda. She took me to the church, which,
having been burned, was ruined. There was only a single cross
still standing, I had to fulfill my manda, so I gathered some
people and we rebuilt the church. Then I served three years
as a Capakoba to fulfill my manda and then an additional three
years as a gift.
Once one has made a manda he must work it out even if it is necessary
to recreate the social and ceremonial context within which it may be
satisfied. Mandas are especially made during sickness, either by the
sick person or by a parent. The person promises that he will serve if
he is cured. If the parent promises for a child and the child recovers,
then the child must pay, even though he did not make the promise him
self. The promise to serve, the manda, in exchange for continued life
and health, then, is a part of the charter. The goal of individual partici
pation within the ceremonial is the fulfillment of the manda, the exchange
of ceremonial labor for one's life.
Also, in addition to the fulfillment of the manda, the Paskome
and other participants ask for santo sewam, the Holy Flowers (or very
freely translated, rewards in heaven). "Santo sewa is loria (glory). "
It is grace, glory, and salvation. Thus, participation within the cere
monial not only pays off the bargain one makes for his life, but also lays

away rewards in heaven, in the future life. It builds santo sewam.

One lives only by the will of God, ? Itom ? AiSai. He controls the
forces of nature such as the thunder, lightning, and rain. When he wants
to send rain he says rain and it rains. Without his command, there is no
rain. Thunder is the voice of God's anger (? Itom ?Afcal ?'ompari), and
lightning is his power.
The full history of God's action in the world has been recorded
and makes up the book called The Bible. God created man and woman by
breathing on the earth ( ? Itom ? A#ai ?' a yawak huka mundota). He created
both male and female so they could mate. At first, they were naked in
the garden. Then, an apple was given to be eaten. When it was eaten,
man and woman realized they were naked.
One lives only by the will of God, ''itom ^A^ai. Since he controls
the rain, when the people become bad, ?' Itom

ASai causes a big flood and

all the bad people are washed into the sea. (Living on a huge flood plain,
the Mayos remember many very devastating floods.) Like in the Great
Flood, only Noah lived on a little ship because ? Itom ?Aai willed that
only he and his people would live. After it had rained for a long time,
Noah sent out a kooni (crow) but it never returned. Then he sent out a
O
little dove and it returned with an ili sewa (flower or leaf). This was
a sign that the flood was over.

One dies when ^Itom ^Afiai wills, and only lives by the will of
^Itom ^Afiai. Only ''itom ^Aai and ^Itom ""Aye (the Virgin Mary) have
lived forever. The rest of us live and die as

Itom

Atfai wills. Along

time ago, there was a married couple, Joseph and Mary. Mary was
pregnant; Joseph knew that he had nothing to do with it, so they fled
out of shame. Soon the angel appeared to Mary and told her not to be
ashamed, because she was going to give birth to Jesus Christ. The angel
also told Mary and Joseph not to be ashamed because it was the work of
the Holy Spirit. Then, he took Joseph aside and, speaking only to him,
told Joseph not to leave Mary because of this. Thus, Mary and Joseph
came back to Belem (Bethlehem). But there was no room for them any
where so they had to go to a stable. It was in the stable that the child
was born. The stable was also the location where the three Kings
(Bahi Reyesim) came to see the Christ child. These Bahi Reyesim from
the Orient brought gifts as well as adoration to the child. Then Pontius
Pilate began pursuing the Christ child and his family because he was
afraid. This fear was based on the idea that the child must be very
important if three kings would come such a great distance to visit him.
For some time the army of Pontius Pilate pursued the Christ child and
finally killed him. However, in the end ? Itom ?Adai arises and the Bahi
o
Reyesim triumph. The army of Pontius Pilate is destroyed. Thus 'Itom
^Afiai's will is supreme and the Judfos (Judases, or Pariserom) must die

44

because they have disobeyed his will. The Pariserom took power and
forgot that only

Itom

Afiai commands.

One lives only by the will of ^Itom ^AiSai. Christ, ^Itom ^Atfai,
taught, cured, was pursued, was crucified, and arose in the Mayo River
Valley as he did in all parts of the earth. Christ traveled around the
River Valley curing the sick and teaching. The Pariserom finally chased
him into the desert, the mesquite forest. They captured him there in the
mesquite forest, and took him to the river to the

abaso forest (cotton-

wood) where they crucified 9'Itom 1ACai.

Lent, Waresma, the seven weeks of ceremonial labor, tekipanoa.
provides a period of service for 2 Itom ?'AiSai through the expression of
the above "history," hlstoria. The participants in the ceremony are work
ing , laboring, for santo sewam (holy flowers). Santo sewam is loria or
rewards stored away in heaven. Also, any of the participants or their
parents have made mandas which are paid through ceremonial participation.
If one is ill or in an extremely difficult situation, he may make a manda,
promise, or bargain to

Itom

Aai or a specific saint. One says if you

will save me, or cure me, I will pay you back through ceremonial labor,
tekipanoa, in the ceremony in your honor. A manda also may be made
for a sick child by the child's parents or godparents. All the participants
in the Easter Ceremonial are paying back mandas, except the Paskola and
Ma so (deer) dancers who are paid, the Maestro, and the Cantora who
perform as part of their ritual status, (tekia). In addition to the above,

all Mayo households participate in the Lenten ceremonial season insofar

that they make sure they have a wooden cross in their house patio
(tebatpo kurus). The house cross guards the house. It is especially
important to have one at Lent and when a member of the family dies. The
santos (saints) come at night and stand or sit on the cross. Some Mayo
families remove their cross after Lent, concealing them in a ramada. How
ever, when Lent comes again, the house crosses come down from the
ramadas to guard.
On Ash Wednesday only the Paskome go to the Catholic Church in
Camalobo where the padre crosses them and places the ash cross on their
foreheads (kuruwa, are crossed). This they do as representatives of all
Mayos in their church area. Later in this first week of Lent, jointly with
the Pariserom, they prepare the Kalbario (the Way of theCross) for the
six Friday processions. This Kalbario, extending for one-half mile out
from the church toward the river, consists of fourteen stations (wooden
crosses) the last of which has three crosses and is Kalbario (see Fig. 1).
The stations near the church are much further apart than the ones near
Kalbario. This is because as Christ neared Kalbario he became tired and
this exhaustion is symbolized in the placement of the crosses.
Early each of the first Rriday afternoons, the

apakobam and the

Parisero YautSim (officers of the Parisero sodality) run through the fields
and up to the church. As they arrive in small groups, they do konti. This

involves running the ceremonial circuit (the stations of the cross, around
Kalbario, around the church) three times. During this running they may
clown. This is because with the mask on the ftapakobam do bad things;
they are without shame. On the final Friday (7th Friday) the Pariserom
crucify Christ. They know no shame.
Late in the afternoon, the major procession forms and proceeds
from one station of the cross to another. As the procession moves from
the first to the second station, the Gapakobam suddenly rush into the
church and emerge holding flowers in their hands. They have taken the
flowers put there for Christ. After the service at the thirteenth station,
everyone madly rushes to surround Kalbario, to go around Kalbario, the
fourteenth station with three crosses. They are in a hurry to get to
Kalbario. At Kalbario, the people do knoti (go around) to the right and
the &apakobam do knoti to the left. After a long service at Kalbario,
everyone returns to the church and soon heads for home.
^

After the third Friday, Lazaro. the image of Christ,

Itom *A6ai,

is carried to individual Mayo houses. This symbolizes Christ's travels,

teaching, curing, and relaxing and resting at individual homes. When
the image is rested in a household, if anyone is sick within that house
hold , he or she will be cured.
On Palm Sunday, the Pariserom proceed to the home of an old man
( ? O ?ola). This ? O ?ola must serve three years. If he does not complete
the three years, he will die. (Specific cases are mentioned of old men

who refused to complete the three years and then died.) The

ola is

selected by the Pariserom, but he is in the service of ^Itom ^Aai and

not the Pariserom. This 9lO ? ola represents Christ. He is like Christ or
in place of Christ (Kristota benasi). When the Pariserom arrive at the
home of the

o
O 'ola he attempts to escape and runs into the bush. But

the Pariserom capture him like a prisoner. He is not serving a manda

(promise), but is captured Kristota benasi, like Christ.
On Monday, the Pariserom take the ? O?ola around to the homes of
the people living in the area. When they arrive at one's home, the home
owner is expected to give a small sum of money for the ceremony, a
limosna. When the ^O^ola appears at one's house, he is wearing greens
around his head, the same kind of greens which have also been placed on
the house crosses, tebatpo kurusim. Each tebatpo kurus has flowers and
o o
o
o
greens because it is (represents) the 'O ola, 'Itom Afiai. The Pariserom
have the

90
1 0 ola and the 9 O ? ola has greenery around his head. The

Pariserom are going to throw down (tattanake) the ? O ? ola. We every

where will throw down all the tebatpo kurusim.
The Pariserom hold the ? O ?ola in their possession during Holy
Week. On Wednesday night, they keep him awake by giving him food
and coffee to drink. The 6apakobam beat him with their wooden swords
if he sleeps. On Thursday, the Pariserom run the 9' O 9 ola around a Way
of the Cross which has eight crosses covered by a green bower of tree

branches and leads around the church. The bapakobam make the ^O^ola
O
run and fall down like Christ. The Pariserom have him now by the bwa' e
wikosa (a waist sash which is attached to all adult dead). This sash is
used by the angels to pull the dead into heaven and by the burial party
to lower the deceased into the grave. Protecting the ? O ? ola are his eight
madrinas who switch the 6apakobam with long mesquite switches and pull
back on the wikosa. The ? O ? ola has eight madrinas because Jesus had
eight. Also, the bapakobam run at the ^O^ola and try to make him fall.
When the ^O^ola falls, it is like when Jesus had the cross on his back
and fell. (This symbolizes his death and Jesus' death.) Later in Holy
Week the ^O^ola is baptized like the Pariserom because he has died.
He has gone to the underworld. Only for a little time, however, does he
die. The ^O^ola is not Christ, but he is run to remind people that Christ
was in a body just like an old man when he (^Itom ^ASai) died.
The next day, Friday, is the crucifixion. Mayos believe the
Priserom crucify Christ (kupte Krlsto or kupteyo Kristo) on the cross. The
O
Santa Kuruh is the cross upon which Christ was killed. It is called ' Itom
o
'Afiai. At Christ's death, the earth shakes and the angels come down. The
crucifixion takes place within a green bower within the Mayo church.. When
they put the crown of thorns upon Christ, the blood runs down his face.
When the Pilato hits Christ with his lance Christ's eyes open. (Rich
phrases also describe the driving of the nails into Christ's hands and feet.)

49

When Christ dies, he goes to infierno (hell) and then arises early the next
morning. Temporarily, he is in the world of the Judios (fiapakobam).
After Christ's death, the church bell is tied so it will not ring
and a wooden clapper, matraka. is used instead. This is because the
bell is the voice of the archangel and it therefore hurts the ears of the
&apakobam. The house crosses (tebatpo kurusim), the church cross
(kurus yo**owe) and the Santa Kuruh are pulled up by the Pariserom and
placed on a small wooden box under a green .arch.. On Easter firiday, the
crosses and arches are the tumba (tomb). Also, the eight bower stations
where the ^O^ola knelt are also the tumba. These bowered house crosses
are tombs (tumbas) and not altars. Also at the time of a death within the
family, the specially bowered tebatpo kurus is a tumba and not an altar.
The Santa Kuruh is on an altar, but at Lent when the Pariserom lay it down,
it is a tumba and not an altar.
Also, within the Mayo church, and just after the death of Christ,
on Good Riday, a tumba is made of a mound of dirt surrounding a rectangu
lar area containing the coffin into which is carefully and reverently placed
the body of Christ. During this time, the

Alawasim stand guard protecting

the tumba and the body of Christ from the fcapakobam, and the Maestro is
reciting the mass of the dead. If a tapakoba threatens, they strike out
with long cane switches. During a Mayo funeral, four long carrizo (cane)
sticks are carried with the wood casket. These carrizos are for the

padrinos (godfathers) and madrinas (godmothers) of the deceased to beat

away dogs or trespassers who might harm the body. The carrizos, which
are placed in the four corners of the grave, are removed on the eighth day.
o
These four carrizos are exactly like the switches of the Alawasim use to
guard Christ's tomb on Good Friday. This is exactly like the madrinas
who beat off the 6apakobam with long carrizos when they are guarding
? ?
the running fO ola on Maundy Thursday.
After the mass of the dead is complete, there is a procession
(konti) around the church with the coffin of Christ. It is now dark and
many people with lighted candles go in the procession. If one burns a
candle and walks in this procession, a wish will be fulfilled. One might
be cured of a disease or might be aided in having children if she were
barren. Also, during this procession, some of the Pariserom, especially
the Pilatom, ride horses. At this time, when they are on horseback, they
are called KabSyum.
Early Saturday morning, around 3 or 4 a.m., Christ arises from
the dead and the pasko (more secular aspect of a ceremonial) begins. To
day, the bapakobam take off their masks. The people throw flowers when
the group of three white fiapakobam, three Paskolas, and three ^Alawasim
and a deer dancer run from the church to the cross three times and whip
the ground three times. They are carriers of the news that the Pariserom
are being conquered by the Bahi Reyesim and that

Itom 'Afcai (Christ)

will again rule, supreme. At this time the godparents of the apakobam

51

are waving blankets over their godchildren (the 6apakobam) who are
kneeling on all fours in two long lines along the edge of the sacred way,
running from the church altar to the church patio cross (kurus yo^owe).
The waving blankets and the water of baptism which the Maestro sprinkles
upon their bare backs cools the 6apakobam who are burning up. Thus, the
Judfos (fiapakobam), the Pilatom and the Pariserom are redeemed through
baptism, but Judas is not, for he has no salvation. He is symbolically
burned on the fire with the Gapakobam masks, knives, and swords. The
Pariserom must be baptized just like little children for they have been
bad. They do bad things, are masked, and are allied with the devil, and
therefore must be baptized so that they become men again and no longer
are Pariserom.
Easter Sunday is the final ritual in the recovery of the men from
Pariserom. Around noon, a procession of Pilatom, Cristo, and San Juan
(Saint John) leaves the paskola ramada and a second procession with the
image of Mary leaves the church. Both proceed down the sewateri (the
sacred way from the church to the paskola ramada which has been swept
and lined with green tree leaves and small twigs). When they approach
each other, Saint John (the image) "runs" (is carried) to Mary to announce
o
that Christ is alive and is returning. They are bowed three times, omom
teb6tuak (they greet one another), the same as the meeting of any two

saints. Mary will not believe Saint John, but says she will give him a
liston of red, white, and green ribbons if it is true.
The following is the discussion between Mary and Saint John:
(Saint John says to the Virgin): ''em ^asoa a^abo weve (your son comes.)
(The Virgin answers): haksu tewaka
mean)

inapo impusimmea 9'a bifiak

9
1 9

a abo we91 enake # (but what do you

a meawaku# (I saw it with my eyes

when they killed him.)

(San Juan): pos.
(Virgin):

9 9
1

a abo weve
q

em

a sua# (Well, here comes your son.)

ana lutulatuk fen&i fabrlsim maknake# (If it is certain I am

going to give you the ribbons.)

(San Juan): beha a^abo weve. **em ^asoa# (Yes, your son comes.)
(Virgin): ^ino **a vepsako + ^en&im ne ''am maknake hume ''abrisiam#
(When he comes to me, I will give you the listones.)
Saint John "runs" three times between Christ and Mary, and then the two
processions come together, the images bow, and all three return to the
church. While this is going on, the crowd has been cracking egg shells
with paper inside them over the heads of the Pariserom. They make the
sound of crackling fire and symbolize the final burning of the Pariserom.
The Pariserom also enter the church for the final ceremony, and there is
a final procession around the church. Then, the men who were. Pariserom
are fed wheat bread and coffee on the porch of the church because they
have been on a long trip and are hungry. They are now men again.
O
" Inipo huSi henti ka parisero" (I am again a man, not a Parisero).

53

In conclusion and summary,

The &^akobam and Judfos followed and killed Christ because they
wanted to command. They did not want him, Christ, to command
them. They wanted to command. But even though they won when
they killed him, they did not win. Because due to their killing of
Christ, they themselves had to die, had to die because of that.
He arose and ascended into heaven.
Thus when a Mayo mentions that he participates in the Easter ceremonial
as a Parisero, he also adds, "but only God commands. " One dies when
^Itom ?Aai wills, and only lives by the will of ^Itom ^Atsai. Only ^Itom
^Afiai and ?Itom ^Aye have lived forever. The rest of us live and die as
^Itom ^Attai wills. "Hu kostumbre ka lute hiba weye, hiba weye" (The
customs do not end; they go on and on.)
The Personnel
Introduction: The Parisero Status System
The second axis or parameter of the Mayo Easter ceremonial which
we wish to discuss is the personnel. This parameter involves an analysis
of the social structure of the ceremonial, the system of statuses and
their interrelationships. In using the term social structure, we follow
the definition of Radcliffe-Brown (1958:168): "The concept of structure
refers to an arrangement of parts or components related to one another in
some sort of larger unity." These components of a social structure we
will refer to as statuses. This is in line with the early definition of

Linton (1936:113), "A status. in the abstract, is a position in a particu

lar pattern ... is simply a collection of rights and duties." However,
we wish to emphasize the structural position aspect of a status rather
than the rights and duties. The rights and duties bridge the gap between
the concepts of status and role and logically integrate them. According
to Linton (1936:114), "Arole represents the dynamic aspect of a status.
The individual is socially assigned to a status and occupies it with re
lation to other statuses. When he puts the rights and duties which con
stitute the status into effect, he is performing a role." With roles, how
ever, we have ceased to discuss personnel and are talking of norms,
which is the next section of this paper. Also, we have shifted from
social structure to social organization. In regard to the two concepts,
Radcliffe-Brown (1952-11) nicely distinguished between social structure
(see above), and social organization. "Within an organization each
person may be said to have a role. Thus we may say that when we are
dealing with a structural system we are concerned with a system of
social positions, while in an organization we deal with a system of
roles."
In brief summary, the social structure of the personnel of the
Parisero sodality, or the Kostfimbre, is made up of the following hierarchy
of statuses: Pilato, Pilate or head of the Kostumbre; Kapitan, Captain or
second in command beneath the Pilato; Sarqento. sergeant; and Kabo,

corporal. These, with a Flautero, flutist, and Tampalero. drummer, make

up the group of the Pariserom called Yauftim. the leaders. The ftapakobam,
or Judios, make up the remainder of the Pariserom. They are lowest in
rank, the Pllatota **O^owlm (men of Pilate) or, the soldados. soldiers
(see Fig. 5). The main structural principle of the social relations between
these statuses is that of dominance-subordinance or of authority. The
Pilato definitely is in command with the Kabos and 6apakobam carrying
out the commands. Each of these statuses is symbolized by a specific set
of material apparatus which we will discuss in detail in a following sec
tion of this paper. However, understanding necessitates that we mention
some of these at this time. The Pilatos carry small red or black patches
of cloth attached to a pole, and late in Lent, a large thin black cloth
worn over the hat and face. Also, late in Lent, the Pilatos often ride
horses in the processions. The Kapitanes carry a long sword, and the
Sargentos and Kabos wear a whip of rope around their waists and carry
a machete. The Flautero, of course, has his flute as a symbol of this
status, and the Tampalero his drum. Most easily observed are the 6apakobam with their masks, blankets, sandals, red and green wooden swords
and knives, and cocoon rattles.
To complete this summary, a word or two about the social organi
zation is necessary, even though this aspect will be considered at greater
length in the section on Norms. The following, then, is the definition

and organization of the roles associated with the above mentioned statuses.
The Pilatos, as leaders, make the main organizational decisions and give
the general commands. Ultimately, they are responsible for the death of
^Itom ^A&ai. They are expected to have a great deal of ceremonial knowl
edge and to behave in a flawless manner. The Kapitanes, Sargentos, Kabos,
Flauteros, and fiapakobam carry out the orders coming down from aboveso
that one very seldom observes a Pilato or Kapitan carrying out an order.
The Kabos and Capakobam are the persons who are running around carry
ing out the orders. Each Kabo has a group of ttapakobam as his specific
charge. At the grass roots level, the Gapakobam are expected to enforce
the customs, as well as burlesquing them. The Flautero provides the
Parisero music and also at times plays before the altar. This is like a
paryer. As we move down through the sets of roles, the expectation of
ceremonial knowledge decreases. For example, a 6apakoba has less
ceremonial knowledge than does a Kabo, Sargento, or Pilato, etc. They
are all, however, expected to obey, enforce the customs and behave
according to tradition or to specific norms.
Each Parisero also needs a set of ceremonial sponsors, a godfather
and a godmother to see him properly through the baptism at the end of
Lent on Holy Saturday. The godparents hold his ritual paraphernalia
while he is baptized and later take him to the altar and the church cross

and place a new rosary over his head. This is a similar function to that
of the godparents in the baptism of a child.
During the Friday processions, the Pariserom are characterized by
a special order of movement from one ceremonial context to another. The
ftapakobam form two long lines on either side of the direction of move
ment, leaving an open corridor down which passes the group of Parisero
Yauttim (Parisero officers) and three Capakobam, as well as the church
groups. This Parisero Yaufcim group consists of two Flauterom and a
drummer in the first row, two Kapitanes on the outside and two Pilatom
on the inside of the second row, and the three Sapakobam in the third row.
The General Social Structure
Something should be said about the structural interrelations be
tween the Pariserom and the other Mayo sodalities which are important
in the Mayo Easter ceremonial. There are two other major groupings of
sodalities and statuses with which the Parisero social structure articulates
to produce the Easter ceremonial (see Fig. 6). These two broad divisions
are the Church and the Cult of the Woods. The members of the Cult of
the Woods are as near to professional performers as Mayos come. The
dancing of the deer (Maso) and the Paskola and the singing and music of
their musicians is a necessary part of the Easter Ceremonial. The re
sponsibility for obtaining and supervising the members of these sodalities
goes to the Pariserom and the Pasko Personasim (Paskome). The Paskola

Yo ''owe (the senior Paskola) functions as the leader of this Cult of the
Woods group. He gives the ritual speeches. Within the ramada, where
this group performs, one can always observe several Kabos or Sargentos,
along with several ^Alawasim or the Mo^oro of the Pasko Personasim.
They are maintaining order, escorting the performers here or there to a
procession, or caring for the physical arrangement of the paskola ramada.
They decorate the ramada before the performance, obtain the water for
the water drum, etc. These Cult of the Woods groups take part in the
Saturday and Easter Sunday ceremonies and processions, as well as
entertaining the crowd by dancing and joking in the paskola ramada
Saturday afternoon, all Saturday night, and Sunday morning. They are
necessary to any Mayo Easter Ceremonial, and therefore are structurally
integrated, although not very strongly (see E. Spicer 1940:292-300),
within the Easter Ceremonial social system. They are obtained, directed,
organized, and cared for through combined effort of the Pariserom and
Paskome. The Pariserom, of course, take the initiative and are the key
leaders within this context.
The social structure of the church sodalities is a great deal more
complex than that of the Cult of the Woods. At this point, however, we
can only briefly outline its structure (see Fig. 6, and L. Crumrine 1966:
142, Fig. 2). The Maestro or Mayo lay minister is one of the supreme
leaders and authorities in the church social structure. His authority and

power is within the sacred realms of the church. Of nearly equal power
is the leader of the secular arm of the church social structure, the church
governor (Teopopo Kobanaro). The Teopopo Kobanaro in Banari also serves
as a Pilato; however, this is an unusual situation. This situation obviously
has interesting implications for the distribution of power, the integration
of the Pariserom organization with the church organization, and for studies
of Mayo leadership patterns, implications to which we will briefly return
in the next section on norms and social organization. Beneath the
Teopopo Kobanaro are the Hiohtelfo (secretary) and the Maneharo (manager),
or Tomita Suayaleo (treasuerer). Respectively, they keep the records of
decisions and of financial income and expense. Finally, there are
Bokales, or aids and the men of the pueblo. They carry out decisions or
necessary tasks as delineated by the officers. The officers are elected
by the pueblo for life or as long as they prove competent. This whole
secular arm of the church group is also referred to as the Bahi Reyesim
(the three kings) whose power has been somewhat eclipsed during Lent
by the Pariserom. Actually, these statuses are conceived not as secular
by Mayos, but as differently sacred than the statuses which we here call
sacred.
The arm of the church which we have elected to call sacred may
be divided into the Pasko Personasim. those who are responsible for the
production of the large church ceremonies, and the Church group proper,

who work directly with the saints. Bridging this gap are the Maestros and
the Mooro, who is in charge of instructing and organizing the Paskome.
Within the Church group proper, the Maestro is assisted by numerous
assistant Maestros. These additional Maestros read and organize re
stricted sections of the service associated with the ceremony which is
taking place. Aiding these Maestros is the Sacristan, who rings the bells
and cares for the church and the images. Also, assisting the Maestros
are Cantoras or female (sometimes male) singers who sing the appropriate
part of the liturgy. Working with the Sacristan are altar girls who accom
pany the images of Mary on processions and care for them. Also, the
little Mayo children and their godmothers are within this category. These
little anhelitas, angels, take part in the Friday Kontis and the processions
of Easter week. These women, plus the other women of the pueblo who
walk in the Easter processions, are called Bahi Mariam, and are the
major part of this sacred church group proper. Also, the MataSin sodality,
under the control of the Maestro and assistant Maestros, dances for the
ceremony on Easter Sunday. The Mataftin sodality consists of the follow
ing ranked statuses: Monaha Yo^owe. Monaha Segfinda, ^Alwasil. Musiko.
and MataSin. The Monaha Yo^owe is the head of the organization, who
gives the ritual instructions to the dancers and may dance at the head
of the group. The Monaha Segunda takes over the leadership if for some
reason the Yo^owe is absent. The Musikos, men playing violins and

o
guitars, provide the music for the dancing. The ' Alwasil does menial
tasks associated with the operation of the society and instructs and
watches out for the young dancers. The ordinary members of the society
who make up the bulk of the dancers, at least during Lent, are young
men of the age range of 6 to 14. (Also young girls of this age range dance
for the saint's day ceremony, at which time the dancing is specifically
spoken of as an initiation.) The dancers wear a headdress decorated
x

with ribbons and beads, and carry a rattle and a feather wand.
And lastly, under the control of the church and the Maestro is
the group of Paskome (fiesteros) who are responsible to the saint of the
Banari church (Santisima Tiniran, Holy Trinity) for the production of the
yearly round of church ceremonials. The Paskome consist of the following
ranked statuses: Pares, ''Alperes. and ^Alawasin. The Mo''oro is the
main link to the church proper. He is responsible for the ritual training
of the other Paskome and works closely with the Maestro, as well as
with the Personasim. On ritual occasions he carries and plays a small
O
drum. The Paresim (Pares Yo owe. Pares Segundo. Pares Tersero) are the
leaders and command the others. They wear a special insignia around
their waists. The ^Alperesim (^Alperes Yo^owe. ** Alperes Segundo,
O
Alperes Tersero) are the second in command and on ceremonial occasions
O
carry the flag of the saint, Santisima Tiniran. Lastly the Alawasim
o
o
o
o
( Alawasin Yo 'owe. Alawasin Segundo, Alawasin Tersero) who carry

o
o
out the orders of the Mo oro, Paresim, and Alparesim. During a cere
monial, one constantly hears the cry of, "^Alwasin" do this, do that, etc.
As an insignia, the ^Alawasin wears a fox tail around his waist, and
carries a staff decorated with ribbons.
The above provides a brief description of the sodalities and the
individuals which compete for the power of leadership during Lent. Re
calling the charter of the Easter ceremonial, we remember that throughout
Lent, the control of the Pariserom over the Bahi Reyesim and the Bahi
Mariam (the secular and sacred church social structure) gradually increases
until the Pariserom have enough power to crucify Christ and attempt to
take absolute control. In the diagram, the dotted line symbolizes this
increasing power of the Pariserom (Fig. 6). Finally, of course, the
Pariserom are destroyed on Easter Saturday and the Bahi Reyesim regain
power. Thus, the Parisero sodality is directly responsible for the pro
duction, the organization, and the supervision of the Easter ceremony.
This is accomplished, however, in conjunction with the other sodalities,
especially with the Pasko Personasim. As one of the Pariseros expressed
it, "we, the Pariserom and Paskome, make the ceremony together; however,
it is mainly our ceremony. " Thus in terms of overall social structure, the
Easter season represents a unique configuration with a uniquely Easter
sodality taking ceremonial and political control of the Mayo population
of the River Valley.

63

The Limiting Factors: Group Size. Population Density. Territorial

Arrangement
Now we must turn to a more careful analysis of the social structure
of the Parisero sodality. The parameters of this analysis will focus upon
sex, age, residence, and kinship as suggested by Firth (1956, 1958:82).
"The social structure, both as regards groups and institutions, can be
seen to be based upon definite principles. Sex, age, locality, and kin
ship are among the most fundamental of these in all human societies."
Eggan (1950:9) also mentions the above parameters and adds additional
limiting factors.
Social structures differ in range and complexity, and ultimately
it should be possible to arrange them on a continuum of relative
complexity. For preliminary purposes, since the social structure
is known in detail for very few tribes, it is necessary to utilize
various criteria as indexes of social structure. Some of these
are limiting factors: the size of the social group, the density of
its population, and the territorial arrangement. More important
as indexes are various subdivisions of the social structure, the
sex and age divisions, the kinship system, and the various formal
and informal organizations which the group may take.
Although he has in mind the social structure of a full society, there is
no reason why his parameters are not useful in the analysis of the social
structure of a sodality or voluntary organization like the Pariserom, as
well as that of a society.
First, let us examine the limiting factors. In 1961, the year of
the initial field-work period, my wife and I estimated that there must be
at the minimum 10,000 Mayos living in the Huatabampo municipio, where

the Bcinari church is located. This estimate is based upon the 1950 census
which lists 22,701 persons in Huatabampo municipio. The Proyecto of 1957
(page 44) lists the birth rate in Sonora as 50.4 per thousand persons and
the death rate as 12.6 per thousand persons. This means an increase of
almost 38 persons per thousand per year. Since there is an eleven year
difference between 1950 and 1961, the year of the field work, I have pro
jected the 1950 figures to 1961. In the text, each figure quoted from the
Proyecto is followed by a figure in brackets, my projected one for 1961.
Thus, the total population for Huatabampo municipio reads 22,701 (32,190).
By 1961, due to high birth rate and high immigration rate, this figure
would be quite low. Of these persons, 7,701 (10,920) were living in
Camalobo or an urban area, and 15,000 (21,270) in the surrounding rural
area. Also, of the total 22,701 (32,190) there were 7,667 (10,873) per
sons of under 12 years of age. (Proyecto de Programa de Gobierno del
Estado de Sonora chart Cuadro numero 1-A, primera parte, Caracteristicas
Demograficas Relativos 1950). We did not make a detailed census our
selves; however, based on a year's intensive field observation of the
rural and urban districts, we believe at least one half the rural popula
tion, if not much more, to be Mayo and at least one third of the urban
population to be Mayo. This means there are at least some 10,000
(15,000) Mayos in the Huatabampo municipio. The Proyecto lists 4,865
(6,899) indigenous population in Huatabampo municipio (Cuadro Numero 1,

65

Primera Parte, Caracteristicas Demograficas, absolutos 1950). In light

of discussions with numerous Mayos, we discovered that in the census,
they were first asked if they could speak Spanish. If they could, they
answered, si (yes), which ended the questioning about language. They
were not then asked if they also could speak Mayo. The 4,865 (6,899)
then represents persons who were monolingual in Mayo or who directly
suggested to the census taker that they were Mayos. Thus, excluding
many bilingual Mayos, the census is low in its reporting of Mayos.
If we accept the 10,000 (15,000) figure for Mayos in Huatabampo
municipio, then the Banari Easter ceremony includes or services probably
one half or around 5,000 (7,500) persons. This is because there are two
Easter ceremonials in Huatabampo municipio, Banari and Hufkori. Thus,
the size of the social group which the Parisero sodality services is some
thing around 5,000 (7,500) Mayos.
Second, let us consider the population density in this service
area. The Proyecto (cuadro numero 6, Densidad de Poblacion) lists
Huatabampo Municipio as the most densely populated of all municipios
in Sonora. Li Huatabampo Municipio, there are more than 30 persons per
square kilometer. Etchojoa Municipio has between 22 and 30 persons
and Navojoa Municipio has between 15 and 22 persons per square kilo
meter. Since we have estimated the Mayos represent around one half
the population in Huatabampo Municipio, the Mayo population density

would be more than 15 persons per square kilometer. Still, this is an

impressive population density when it is compared to other figures for
Northern Mexico and North America (see Haury 1962:110). Thus, the
population density is adequate and would likely require some complex
type of socio-cultural integration to organize and maintain such large
numbers of people.
The third limiting factor, territorial arrangement, seems to indi
cate that the socio-cultural integration was not entirely adequate. Here
we are referring to the fact that Mayo villages tended to split, resulting
in two village ceremonial centers. The splitting appears often to have
involved intense feelings of antagonism and hatred. At the present time,
in the Mayo River Valley, there are ceremonial mechanisms which to
some degree bridge the deep-seated unpleasantness involved in the
splits. These mechanisms are evident, especially during ceremonial
exchange during patron saint's day ceremonials, when several of the
formerly split pueblos may join and as a unit visit a ceremonial in a
third pueblo (for a complete description of these exchanges see L.
Crumrine 1966). With one exception, these mechanisms are not operative
during the Easter season. Each local ceremonial center is performing its
own Easter ceremonial. During the first season in which we attended the
Banari ceremonial, a great deal of pressure was brought upon us, either
to attend the ceremonial where were living, up the Mayo River, or to

move to and live in the Banari area. For example, we were told on
several occasions that it was not right for us to live up river in Navajoa
municipio and attend the Banari ceremony. When we moved to the Banari
area, this objection completely disappeared. Thus it is expected that
one will attend the ceremonial within his own local area, the area in
which he lives and in which he has dead buried. Specially crucial in
this attendance pattern is the third Friday procession, LUzaro (Lazarus).
One often hears the question, "Where did you go, Lazaro?" It means
you should be attending all the ceremonies in the community where you
attended the third Friday. You have a right and a duty to attend there.
The exception to this rule, mentioned above, is that of the Paskome.
Each ceremonial host has a promise to a specific saint, a promise which
therefore must be paid in the church which honors the specific saint, or
has that saint as its patron. This means that persons from as far as
the Fuerte River Valley may be working off promises in Banari as Paskome.
Since the Paskome aid the Pariserom in the Easter ceremonial, this is
part, although not the main duty of their promise which is the patron
saint's day ceremony. They must attend the Easter ceremonial where
their promise is and not necessarily in the area in which they live.
This means that, except for the Paskome, everyone is attending
a local ceremony within the area in which they live. The Easter ceremonial
therefore stimulates local solidarity, rather than forging inter-village

integration. This is similar to the ceremony for the returning dead

November 1st and 2nd when the local people are oriented to their cemetery
and their immediate ancestors. These are the Mayo ceremonies of local
solidarity as contrasted to the saint's day ceremonials which integrate
numbers of local villages (L. Crumrine 1966). For example, during the
Lenten season there are Easter ceremonials taking place in Banari, Hufcori,
Arocosi, Caccacu, San Rafael, Sialipacu Viejo, Tecu, Bejeye, Juyamisi,
San Pablo, and perhaps in Tosalipacu. Also, on the Fuerte River in
Sinaloa there are Easter ceremonies in at least three and likely more
communities. North on the Yaqui river and in Arizona, there also are
Easter ceremonials (see E. Spicer 1940, 1954; R. Spicer 1939; and
Painter 1955). Therefore, the Easter ceremonial is an extremely local
type of ceremonial, even though it takes place over a broad geographic
area. This means that local differences in the ceremonials would appear
throughout time and become important. For this reason, it is important
to obtain as many detailed reports of Cahitan Easter ceremonials as
possible. This very local nature of Easter ceremonials appears in other
areas of Mexico, for example, in Chiapas and in the Highland Maya area
in Guatemala.
In summary, the limiting factors of the social structure of the
Pariserom include a social group in 1961 of around 7,500 persons serviced,
a relatively dense population of some 15+ persons per square kilometer,

and a local pattern of participation and territorial arrangement. The large

size of the local group and its high population density means that it is
easily possible for local people to support an Easter ceremonial. Thus,
the limiting factors are satisfied. Now, we must turn to the definite
principles or parameters of sex, age, kinship, and locality.
The Parameters: Sex, Age. Kinship, and Locality
In terms of sex, only males are members of the Pariserom, although
females play important parts as godmothers of the Pariserom on Holy Satur
day, and as the providers of the ritual foods for the Pariserom on Easter
Sunday. Some of the Capakobam portray the role of women, especially
in the Gapakobam burlesque of marriage and of love making. Participation
based on sex differences is important throughout the Easter ceremonial.
For example, in the processions, the women either carry the image of
Mary or follow close by, whereas the men of the community walk behind
the procession or stand beside it. In summary, the membership of the
Parisero sodality is exclusively male. In this sense then, the social
structure of the Pariserom symbolizes a strictly male bid for power and a
male attempt to control the political and ceremonial structure of Mayo
society.
Age is also a very important factor or parameter of the Pariserom
social structure. Immediately one notices that neither the old nor the

very young are involved. This leaves two groups, young and middle-aged
men. These two categories are manifest within the Pariserom. This is to
say that one observes a distinct age differential between the Gapakobam
and the Parisero Ya^ufcim (the officers of the Pariserom sodality). The
Ya^uftim are in their thirties, forties, and early fifties, whereas the
Capakobam range between 15 to 18 years of age. Thus, the Parisero
sodality is definitely structured on the basis of age, as well as that of
authority, the young men filling the statuses of fiapakobam and the mature
o
men filling the statuses of Ya uiiim.
The third parameter, that of kinship, appears to be of relatively
little importance for the structure of the Pariserom. However, it is in
some cases a consideration. It is possible that the statuses of the
Parisero sodality are ascribed, rather than achieved, and are dependent
upon kinship determinations, bilateral or lineal. However, we have no
data which would indicate this to be the case. Since kinship is not as
important as community residence in other aspects of Mayo life, it seems
reasonable to conclude that statuses in the Parisero sodality are achieved.
As mentioned above, for some individuals living between two church
centers, kin affiliation may be a determining factor in the church that the
individual attends. In these cases, the burial place of ancestors or
the ceremonial center of a parent may determine the specific church
center in which a young man may join the Parisero sodality. For example,

one young man had been a tapakoba in Hufcori, his father's ceremonial
center, while his mother and half-brother (by the mother) served as Paskome
at Banari. This young man's wife, who had very recently died, however,
was buried at Banari and not at Hufcori. Since the Banari-Hufcori split
was not particularly friendly, this split participation must be a source
of some conflict at the family level. Also, it was pointed out to us that
some of the ceremonial participants were not truly Mayo River Mayos
because their dead were buried elsewhere, even though these persons
had lived in the Banari area much of their lives. In summary, specific
statuses in the Parisero sodality do not seem to be inherited within family
lines, but rather appear to be achieved. However, legitimate participa
tion in the Easter ceremonial in Banari requires one to have deep kinship
links to the Banari area, meaning that one has dead buried in the Banari
area.
The Parisero Sodality; Size. Privileges. Duties
Lastly, let us return to the formal social structure of the Parisero
sodality itself in order to suggest several principles which are of great
importance within its social structure. The Pariserom (Pharisees) may
be referred to at times as the Kostumbre ("The protectors of the tradi
tions," E. Spicer 1954:89), as the Hurasim or Judfos (Judases) and as
mukila, dead or spirit. The Pariserom in Banari numbered 80 in 1958,
100 in 1961, and 112 in 1965. (The last two figures are according to an

officer of the Pariserom, were collected during Easter Week in the re

spective years, and therefore are reliable. The figures are from a list
of mandatory contributions of all members of the Parisero society for the
year. The 1958 figure is according to an informant's memory. He also
mentioned that the Pariserom of Sialipacu Viejo number around 30 and those
of San Miguel in Sinaloa around 120-130.) The figures indicate that the
Parisero organization was increasing by about four* members each year
during the periods of field work.
o
The Pariserom sodality is subdivided into the Ya uSim (the com
manders, or officers) and the 6apakobam, the tropa (the soldiers). In
the Ya^uSim category the Pilato (General) is the first in command. Often
there are several Pilatos, called Pilato Yo''owe (or first Pilate), Pilato
Segfindo (second Pilate), Pilcito Tersero (third Pilate) and Pilato Iscariot
who calls the old man out of the green bower just before the running of
? ?
the O ola. In 1961, there were four Pilatos and in 1965, there were five,
an increase of one. Second to the Pilatos are the Kapitanes (captains or
brigadier general). In 1961 there were four Kapitanes and in 1965 there
were five, an increase of one. Under the Kapitanes are the Sargentos
(sergeants) and Kabos (corporals). In 1961, we were told there were two
Sargentos and twelve Kabos, and on this basis, I would estimate there
were around sixteen Sargentos and Kabos combined in 1965. Also, accom
panying these officers are the Flauterom (flute players) and Tampaleros

(drummers). In 1965, there were four flauterom and possibly two Tampalerom.
Their number was approximately similar or slightly less in 1961, say a total
p
of four. This means that there were approximately twenty-six Ya ufcim
O
(officers) in 1961 and approximately thirty-two Ya u&im in 1965, a gain
of about six officers.
Beneath the Ya^ufcim, the officers, are the Sapakobam. At differ
ent times and by different informants, they may be called Pilatota
^O^owim (men of Pilate), Tropa (the troup), Hurasim or Judases, Sontaom
(soldiers), or fcapayekam.

In 1961 there were 74 Gapakobam; whereas,

in 1965, there were 80, a gain of six members. If there were 74 6apakobam
in 1961, and if the Banari church area involves some 5,000 (7,100) Mayos,
this means that 74 young men out of a 2,500 (3,550) male population were
serving in the Pariserom as 6apakobam. (The figure in parentheses is my
1961 projection of the 1950 figures in the Proyecto.) If we accept the
pyramid of ages given in the Proyecto de Programa de Gobierno del Estado
de Sonora (1957:42) we can calculate that about 1 male in 50 is each of
the following ages: 15, 16, 17, 18, or 19. If we divide 50 into 2,500
(3,550) we get 50 (71) young men who are 15, 50 (71) who are 16, and 50
(71) who are 17. Since the young men serve three years for each man,
around the ages of 15, 16, and 17, this means that there are 150 (213)
young men available out of the Banari area of 2,500 (3,550) males. Since

74

74 of them are serving as Capakobam, this means that over one-third of

the young men available are serving in the sodality.
On the other hand, if we accept the Proyecto figures of 4,865
(6,899) Mayos in Huatabampo municipio, and apply the above figures, we
get a population of 75 (138) young males between the ages of 15-17. The
Pariserom have 74 young males serving, which means that (1) if we accept
the Proyecto figure of 4,865 and project it to 1961, we get a figure of
6,899; (2) if we accept the projected 1961 Banari male population between
the ages of 16-18 as 138, the (3) one in slightly under every two young
men serve three years as a Capakoba. In conclusion, whether we accept
the Proyecto figure or our own estimate, there is strong evidence that
between one in every two, and one in every three, young men serve as
6apakoba, which is very high in terms of the rapid modernization taking
place in the Mayo River Valley.
In terms of the authority, function, privileges, and duties of
the above named statuses, the following ideas should be mentioned.
The following section, The Norms, will spell out in detail the social
organization, the roles and network of roles, and how the social structure
is expressed. Thus, one of its purposes will be the elaboration and
demonstration of the following ideas. The function of the Parisero
sodality, in accordance with the charter of the Easter ceremonial, is
the pursuit and destruction of Christ, of the Three Kings (the civil
government), during a period of time when the balance of power is not

yet clear or has not yet been completely socially delineated. Their func
tion is to demonstrate graphically the implications and dangers involved
in assuming power, and in attempting to usurp or coalesce limited power
into absolute power. This is a season of turmoil and of change. The
cold damp foggy nights and windy, dusty days of late winter hopefully
will be changing into the warmer days and nights of spring, and into the
rainier season of summer. It is the function of the Pariserom to dramatize
that out of the chaotic months of windy, dusty infertility will come the
birth of spring and the fertility of summer rains. This point is firmly
established by the analogy to the struggle for political power enacted by
the Pariserom, the Kostumbre. They demonstrate that out of the chaos of
conflicting struggle for socio-political power develops a final synthesis,
a reestablishment of the traditional civil government and of the ultimate
power of ^Itom ^Afcai, Our Father God. The duty of the Kostumbre, the
Pariserom, together with the Paskome, is to produce the drama which
establishes this point, rebuilding out of the chaos of the winter season
and the chaos of the struggle for socio-political power, the fertile spring
and summer seasons and the traditional structure of society. This, then,
is the duty of the Kostumbre (Pariserom), the sodality which guards and
protects the traditional way of life by dramatizing its dissolution, the
resulting chaos and the reestablishment of the social order. It is natural
then that this sodality should be called the Kostumbre (the custom's

guardians) even though they burlesque the customs and attempt to usurp
absolute power for themselves. It is their duty to symbolize what could
happen without the traditional social order. Also, within this context, it
is their duty to enculturate the Capakobam. The specific statuses and
rules of the sodality directly relate to the production of the symbolic
drama, the Easter ceremonial. From this duty extends the privileges of
the Pariserom. These privileges mainly focus around the absolute power
which becomes theirs during part of the Lenten season. They assume
the political and ceremonial powers of the civil government, and the
church government. It is the privilege of the Pariserom to rule during
Lent. From this privilege, ultimately, comes their usurping of absolute
power and their ultimate downfall, destruction, and death. Therefore,
it is their privilege to assume absolute authority during their season in
power. They even finally enter every Mayo household and remove the
tebatpo kurus, one of the symbolic links between the family and their
deity, ? Itom ?Aai. The Pariserom make their authority felt from the
level of village government down to the level of each individual family.
In summary, during the Lenten season, the Parisero sodality assumes
absolute authority as a privilege, resulting from the duty to symbolize
in a sacred drama the power struggle and the final reestablishment of the
traditional social order and the birth of the spring and summer seasons.

77

The Structural Principles

The last point for discussion in this section on the personnel of
the Parisero sodality involves the structural principles underlying the
Parisero social structure. By structural principle, I have a concept in
mind which is very much the same level of generality as that suggested by
Eggan. However, I would wish to apply it to the social structure of a
sodality, a part society, rather than to the full social structure of a
society as does Eggan (1950:10-11).
By the analysis and comparison of various kinship
systems, a limited number of structural principles have been
worked out which derive from the relations existing in the
elementary family. Such principles as the "equivalence of
siblings, " the "unity of the lineage group, " and others have
been defined. These principles, representing descriptive
summaries of social relations and social behavior, are found
in varying proportions and arrangements in different kinship
systems, and in other aspects of the social structure as well,
and thus offer a basis for preliminary comparison and classification.
Since such principles often lie behind diverse institutions, they
may suggest explanations of particular correlated features.
There appear to be at least three key structural principles which are of
great importance for the structure of the Parisero sodality. The first and
perhaps most important might be called a hierarchical unity of the sodality.
This refers to the very obvious and very strong authority structure of the
Parisero sodality. All statuses within the sodality are related on a strict
dominant-subordinate scale. Commands flow from the apex of the hier
archy, the Pilatom, down ultimately to the bottom level, the fiapakobam.
The names of the statuses also indicate the dominant-subordinate nature

of the Parisero social structure, Pilato, Kapitan, Sargento, Kabo, and

tapakoba. Thus, one of the structural principles involves a regimented
hierarchy of statuses related in terms of degrees of authority. I suspect
that this type of principle could be found running through other sodality
structures within Mayo society, such as the civil government, the church
government, and even the family, although here it is not nearly as domi
nant as in the Parisero sodality.
Also, there is a second structural principle which is a counter
principle to the first. This second principle is much more like the
"equivalence of siblings" than the unity in hierarchy. It involves first
equivalence or perhaps equality of actors as persons, and second,
equality of actors because of their position within equivalent statuses.
The first aspect of this counter principle, the equality of actors, involves
the idea that each Mayo person is an autonomous individual. This is
directly contradictory with the hierarchical structuring of the statuses
within the Pariserom. Equality of individuals involves values, such as,
no individual may speak for another, nobody may make another's decision.
Each person must be treated equally. When one shakes hands with one
Parisero, he must shake hands with them all. No special favors are
appreciated. The idea that individual Mayos as persons are equal and
autonomous is basic within this Mayo way of life, characterized by
polite circumspect interpersonal relations. The social structure of the

Pariserom and the other Easter sodalities and their structural interrelations
provide a partial solution for this conflict of structural principles, be
cause for Mayo social structure, persons in statuses may act not in
accordance with the structural principle of equality-autonomy, but in
accord with the position of the status within the hierarchical social
structure. In other words, a Mayo may command others as a status holder,
but not as an individual. He is conceived of as a representative of the
hierarchy and not as an individual. As an individual, he would have to
regard each other Mayo as an autonomous equal. The Easter ceremonial,
then, is a complex discussion of the conflict between these two key
structural principles, which I suspect are characteristic of all Mayo
society, rather than just the Parisero sodality.
The complexity of the intertwining of these two directly opposed
structural principles is nicely exemplified in the case of a Parisero
Sargento or Kabo, who failed to operate within the system of rules. He
was not well liked or obeyed because he acted as a Sargento and as a
rather pompous Sargento at times, where it would have been more appro
priate for him to act as an individual. In other words, he failed to get
the message of the Easter ceremonial, he failed or something in his
personality prohibited his understanding the conflict between the two
structural principles. He confused acting as a status holder within an
organization, where he had the power to command, with his status as

an individual who did not have the power to command any other autono
mous person.
The second aspect of this principle of equivalence or equality
involves the equality of actors because of their position within equiva
lent statuses. For example, fcapakobam interact on the basis of equality
with ? Alawasim, the madrinas of the ? O'? ola, and with the little boy and
girl angels. This interaction involves tempting the angels and attacking
and being whipped by the ^Alawasim and the madrinas. In the sense that,
neither of these groups controls the other, they meet and interact on the
basis of equality. Also, this is true for other levels of status within the
sodalities involved in the Easter ceremonial. The Pilatom, the Maestrom,
and the Paresim (the heads of the Parisero, the church, and the Paskome
sodalities) generally interact on the basis of equality, although toward
the climax of the ceremonial the Pilatom assume the power of command.
The principle here is that holders of statuses equivalent in the power
hierarchy, even though they are within different sodalities, will interact
with each other, not on the basis of a power hierarchy, but on the basis
of equality or equivalence.
The third structural principle involves the idea of structural rela
tionship with the dead. A &apakoba is sometimes called mukila, the dead
or a spirit. Thus, there is a structural principle which in some way relates
the social structure of the living with that of the dead.

In summary, we have seen that the Pariserom represent a male

sodality or some 100+ men divided into the Ya^ubim (officers), men in
their thirties, forties, and early fifties, and the Gapakobam, the tropa
(the troup) young men between the ages of 15 and 18 or 19. They are all
members of a local community of some 2,500 (3,550) persons, which
means that since the young men serve three years, one in perhaps every
two or three young men serve in the Parisero sodality. In terms of the
rapid processes of modernization taking place in the Mayo River Valley,
this is an amazingly high percentage. The social structure of the
Pariserom is based upon three structural principles, (1) a hierarchical
unity, (2) an equivalence or equality of individuals and actors within
statuses of equivalent power within the hierarchical structure of differ
ing Easter sodalities, and (3) a diffuse structural relationship with the
dead.
The Norms
Introduction
At this point, we need to fill in more of the details in the work
ing out, the expression, of the social structure. These details, Raymond
Firth (1956:73) characterizes as "social organization, the handling of
personal relations." They involve the social usages, social relations,
roles, and ultimately the social organization. This provides a part of

82

what Malinowski (1944:52) calls the norms, "the technical acquired

skills, habits, legal norms, and ethical commands which are accepted
by the members of imposed upon them. " However, in order to isolate the
norms, we must work up through the observed data (the behavior) and the
social usages.
Hilda Kuper (1964:72) has very nicely summarized our procedure
in her discussion of the Incwala. the Swazi Annual Ceremony of Kingship.
Thus the Incwala serves as a graph of status on which the roles
of the king, his mother, the princess, councilors, priests,
princesses, commoners, old and young are mapped by ritual. The
balance of power between the king and the princes and between
the aristocrats and commoners is a central theme; the ambivalent
position of a Swazi king and the final triumph and the sanctity
of kinship is dramatized in ritual.
We have examined the "graph of status" in the preceding section. Now
we turn to the problem of understanding the mapping of the roles in the
status structure. Only after we have described the norms or the mapping
will we come to fully understand the social structure and the structural
principles briefly outlined in the last section.
Traditionally anthropologists have built a system of roles or
social organization based upon observations of social behavior and con
ceptualizations of social usages often taking the form of dyadic relations
and social relations. As one observes individuals interacting, the raw
data, he begins to observe repetitive patterns of behavior in certain in
dividuals and between sets of individuals. These very simple bits of

patterned behavior, which begin to form a basis for the anthropological

distinction between a social fact and a happening or unpatterned data,
have been called social usages. Or to take a more culturological view
point, we might conceive of social usages as consisting of meaningful
happenings. A nice example comes to mind. In a Friday konti on the
way back to the church after the service at Kalbario was concluded, a
meaningless happening took place. A woman walking in the procession,
while looking in another direction, ran into and knocked down one of
the crosses of the way. Before the next Friday konti, one of the Paskome
had reset the cross into the ground. One of the men in the procession
gave the woman a dirty look. However, no one else paid any attention
to the happening. The happening was recorded in our daily log like so
many other happenings, which we could never fit into a meaningful
pattern. On the other hand, during the last konti before Holy Week,
a very similar happening took place which proved to be meaningful.
Again, as the procession returned to the church, the cross was the ob
ject of action. Again, the action involved the removal of the cross. A
man knocked down the same cross which the woman had knocked down.
What made the man's action meaningful while the woman's was meaning
less, while the action was similar in both cases, the removal of the
cross? The man's action was part of an ongoing process, the knocking
down of this Way of the Cross, until the next Easter season. He, likely

a member of the family of one of the Paskome, had been removing each
cross after the procession had passed it on its return to the church. This,
then, is part of a complete pattern of social usages relating to crosses.
In this way, happenings are meaningful and become useful to the anthro
pologist who is constructing from his data, sets of social usages. Or
as Eggan (1950:4) puts it, "The units of social behavior in any society are
the social usagesbehavior patterns expectable between different indi
viduals or groups under given conditions. "
In A Natural Science of Society, Radcliffe-Brown (1957) considers
in some detail this question of the nature of the concept of social usage.
He points out that social usages relate to and control behavior on one
hand, and they are a conceptual part of the much broader social system.
Social usages may be observed in several contexts besides the relations
between persons and crosses as mentioned above: "either between two
or more persons acting together, or in the relation of an individual to
the society as a whole." It seems likely that Radcliffe-Brown would
conceive of the cross as symbolizing society and would therefore include
our example as fitting the latter type of relation. The former type of
social usage, a relation between two persons, has been characterized
as dyadic by anthropologists. Concerning this dyadic type of social
usage Radcliffe-Brown (1952:191) says:
For example, the kinship structure of any society consists of
a number of such dyadic relations, as between a father and

son, or a mother's brother and his sister's son. In an

Australian tribe, the whole social structure is based on a
network of such relations of person to person.
Further, a most important structural feature is the
arrangement of persons in dyadic, person to person, re
lationships, such as that between master and servant, or
in primitive societies between mother's brother and sister's
son.
In a research report, Dyadic Ellcitation in Zunl: Use of "Teacher-Pupil"
Dyads in Ethnology, Roberts and Arth (1966) discuss the use of a dyadic
relation to obtain ethnographic data. Two members of the same family
who were already in a dyadic teacher-pupil relationship chatted in
their own home in front of a tape recorder. The pupil asked the teacher
questions and the latter responded. The advantage of this technique is
"the use of those natural lines of cultural transmission which were al
ready in daily use in any given family" (Roberts and Arth 1966:29). This
is a nice example of a dyadic relation and the use of this type of relation
for information transference.
One type of social usage, when it involves patterned interaction
between two individuals, is called dyadic. When this interaction is
highly patterned it becomes a social relation. Social relations, of course,
are based also upon other types of social usages besides the dyadic.
Social relations of dyadic and other types form a network which makes
up the social structure. In the preceding section of this monograph we
discussed this structural aspect of the social relations, which we called
the statuses, and we analyzed the social structure as a network of

statuses. In this section, we view social relations not as part of a

structural network, but as part of a set of roles which make up the social
organization of the Parisero sodality. Roles obviously involve social re
lations , but since the term social relation has been traditionally used
in a structural, rather than an organizational context, it is perhaps best
to return to social usages. In other words, social usages, observations
of patterned and thus meaningful behavior, provide the basis for the more
highly structured social relation. The network of social relations focus
ing around positions called statuses makes up the social structure. Social
usages also are the basic units of roles which in turn make up the social
organization. Thus, the social usage is a very important analytical unit
in both the social structure and organization.
Another dual aspect of the social usage should be mentioned. This
involves the dual function of social usages as individual or personal
and as social or supra-individual. Social usages are more complex than
common or modal behavior. Through this complexity, their dual nature
becomes apparent. In the above example, it was quite acceptable and
even expected that the man would knock down, or pull up, the crosses.
He was acting correctly within a specific role. That the first behavior
was not common or modal is shown by the fact that the woman who
knocked down the cross was given a dirty look, and that only on this
other occasion were the crosses removed by a person within a specific

role. The man was acting correctly and the woman incorrectly. To judge
the correctness of an act involves the existence of a rule or rules against
which the behavior can be measured. This means that a social usage in
cludes a set of rules, as well as a set of behaviors. These rules provide
the basis for legitimizing the set of acts which are part of a specific role
behavior. These rules are an aspect of what we are calling norms in this
section of the monograph. Often, as in our case of a social usage re
lated to a personified or deified material object, the rules relate to be
havior associated with an object or objects, for example, animals, plants,
rivers, oceans, land forms, winds, weather conditions, or night and day.
The objects provide common agreed upon goals, agreements which provide
the basis for social cooperation. These agreements, rules about how to
attain desired ends, relate men to each other as well as relating them to
the external world. Radcliffe-Brown conceives of the object of agreement
as having "social value." In his extremely creative monograph. The
Andaman Islanders (1964), Radcliffe-Brown demonstrates in great detail
how weather conditions, especially the northeast monsoon winds and
storms, have "social value" and how these values are reinforced in
Andaman myths, customs, and beliefs. Warner (Black Civilization 1958:
393-942) utilizes this model for his equally creative explanation of
Murngin totemism. He (Warner 1958:394) shows that the dry season is
considered good and desirable, has high social value, and includes "a

plentitude of foods, easy and pleasant surroundings and ample creature

necessities, large horde groups, intense and enlarged social activity,
and pleasant exciting behavior . .

Totemism, he explains, exemplifies

the attempt on the part of the Murngin to bring about and maintain this
season of high social value. We will return to this point of view in the
last sections of this monograph when we assess the explanations of the
Easter ceremonial and also in the following section on material apparatus
or symbols of status. In summary, social usages are dual in the sense
that they involve a set of rules and the behavior associated with the rules.
For the researcher, then, they involve understanding rules and observing
and counting behavior.
Keesing (1967), in "Statistical Models and Decision Models of
Social Structure: a Kwaio Case, "points out very clearly the difference
between understanding the rules which are at the basis of decisions and
counting occurrences of different types of behavior. He is concerned with

the categories of relatives which contribute to ego's marriage payments.

One method of analysis of this type of data is the statistical model, a
counting of the instances of occurrence of different types of behavior.
Leach (1961:300), in the following quote from his study of Pul Eliya,
suggests this type of model.
The social structure which I talk about in this book, is in
principle, a statistical notion; it is a social fact in the
same sense as a suicide rate is a social fact. It is a by
product of the sum of many individual human actions, of which

89

the participants are neither wholly conscious nor wholly un

aware . It is normal rather than normative
Keesing (1967:2) believes this statistical model to be incomplete, because,
"A statistical table alone will not tell one how to act appropriately in a
given set of circumstanceswhere to reside, what descent group to
affiliate with, etc." Keesing (1967:2), following Goodenough, argues
that statistical patterns may change as demographic and ecological con
ditions vary without any resulting change in the decision model. "Thus
descent groups could be agnatic in composition in one area, and 'nonunilineal1 in another, though they result from the same set of decision
making principles applied under different conditions. The parameters,
as it were, remain constant, but the values of the variables change."
Therefore, Keesing argues we should work with both statistical and
decision models. He (Keesing 1967:2) defines a decision model as de
noting an actor-oriented ethnographic description, focusing upon the folk
categories or folk model, that is, "emic."
Its minimal properties are that it (1) defines the situation
or context in a culturally meaningful way; (2) defines the
range of culturally acceptable alternative courses of action
in that situation; and provides either (3) a set of rules for
making appropriate decisions under culturally possible com
binations of circumstances, i.e., a model with determinate
outcomes, or (4) a set of strategies for deciding among
alternatives, i.e., a value-maximization model.
Keesing shows that the decision model proves successful in generating a
set of rules which permit us to describe and understand why certain of

90

groom A's relatives contribute a great deal to his marriage payment, while
the same relatives of groom B may contribute nothing. In a situation of
this complexity, a decision model is superior to the statistical one.
Not only is statistical description difficult when
variations are so extreme, but in Kwaio the statistical out
comes themselves can vary widely. Under conditions of high
population density, Kwaio descent groups increase in scale
and importance, become more thoroughly agnatic in composi
tion, and become more localized. If we observed Kwaio groom's
sides under such conditions, they would tend to include mainly
members of Ego's descent group. If we observed Kwaio society
when population density was low, the groups would more com
monly include mainly cognates and often would approach bi
lateral symmetry. Yet, as the decision model shows, the princi
ples that generate the groups remain the same. (Keesing 1967:15)
However, Keesing does not wish to argue for the replacement of statisti
cal analysis by decision studies, especially in the area of culture change.
In culture change the two, cultural rules and social alignments, are re
lated in a dialectical fashion. Directional changes in statistical pat
terns can result in changes in the rules just as changes in the rules
result in changing statistical patterns. In summary, this whole distinc
tion in method goes back to our concept of social usage as both supraindividual, a statistical pattern of behavior, and as rooted in the indi
vidual, a set of rules directing individual behavior.
Radcliffe-Brown (1957:56) clearly recognizes this distinction.
A social usage is not merely a common mode of behavior.
. . . there are proper or appropriate ways of behaving under
certain circumstances. The king acts according to social
usages which apply to no one else, but everyone else recog
nizes the usage. A social usage is more than simply something

91

which people do ... . The fact (1) that some or many people
observe it, and (2) the fact that a large number of people recog
nize it as a rule constitutes the reality of a social usage.
Further, Radcliffe-Brown argues that the concept of a social usage can
function to bridge this gap in methodology between a set of behaviors
and a rule. Both are manifest or find reality in the social usage. A
complete description of a social usage, therefore, involves both these
aspects. Radcliffe-Brown (1957:56-57) suggests that this solves a
basic dilemna of the social sciences and of social anthropology.
So defined we have connected social usage with reality,
and therby cut Durkheim's Gordian knot. He held that there is
a social reality outside the individual human being, independent
of people, with an individuality of its ownalmost having sub
stantial existence. Tarde, on the other hand, thought that all
one has is acts of peoplethe social facts are iji people. As
usual, both were right and both were wrong. Our concept
eliminates the contradiction between their conceptions. Be
haviors occur both in the individual and outside the individual.
Social usages, in the context of the natural social system, are
both in the behavior of the given individual, and outside that
individual in the behavior of other individuals and in the rela
tionship between these behaviors. What constitutes the
reality are the sets of behaviors of individuals which are of
two kinds: acts of behavior in which social usages are observed
and acts of recognition of these as proper, or, in the breach,
improper.
These ideas about the concept of social usage prove to be very
useful in our description of the Banari Easter ceremonial. In the pre
ceding section of this monograph, we have mentioned the set of linked
statuses which make up the social structure of the Parisero sodality.
In this section, we plan to analyze the roles or the sets of social usages

92

which represent the statuses in the social organization of the Parlserom.

The above discussion about the concept, social usage, indicates that our
description ideally must include two areas of concern with each set of
social usages, or role; the observed behavior pattern and the reported
rules associated with each role. Out of this type of data, we will build
the set of roles which compose the social organization.
While we have discussed at great lengths the social usages, we
have had little to say about the norms. Since we conceive of this sec
tion as Norms (the technical acquired skills, habits, legal norms, and
technical commands), how do the social usages relate to the norms? At
this point, we refer to Radcliffe-Brown's (1957:57-58) concept (rather
than Malinowski's, although I suspect that basically the two positions
are much closer than it might seem) and discover that social usages are
norms. Therefore, the above discussion is about the concept of norms,
as well as that of social usages.
Social usages may be defined as norms. The norm, how
ever, is not one imposed by the scientist. It is one which he
notes as observed by the society. It may be sufficient in some
instances to go and see what all the people are doing to deter
mine a social usage. ... In many instances, however, it is
not as simple as that, because you find certain variations in
behavior. You have then to go to the people themselves and
ask, "What do you think is the proper thing to do?" They may
give you a rule. It is the recognition of that rule, together
with its observance, which constitutes the usage. Any given
rule has two aspects, both of them establishing the norm.
First, there is the recognition of the rule. . . . Second,
there is the degree of conformity. . . . Your norm, therefore,
is always of this double nature. You cannot define a social

usage, except in terms of what people do and what they think

ought to be done. The norm is not established by the anthro
pologist. It is a rule which has an average distribution and
a certain standard deviation in its observance; it is char
acterized by what people say about rules in a given society
and what they do about them.
Sets of social usages, or norms, tend to form nodes or are organ- ized into units which we are calling roles. Each role, therefore, con
sists of a pattern of behaviors and a set of rules. In our description
of the roles making up the Parisero organization, we will attempt to
strike a balance between observations of behavior and description of
rules, a balance which is weighted toward the behavioral aspect, since
we have more data on behavior than comments upon behavior. This is
not because we were using a research method like that of Goffman (1959),
but because we attended as many and as much of Mayo ceremonials as
we could, and because while attending a ceremonial, it is easier to
observe behavior going on than ask busy participants to explain what
is going on. After ceremonials, we would spend hours talking to Mayos
about them. However, still our descriptions of behavior are more com
plete than are the recorded Mayo statements about behavior. The Goff
man method proves interesting and useful, and therefore should be men
tioned in slightly more length. In The Presentation of Self in Everyday
Life. (Goffman 1959), as in his other equally creative publications, he
quite literally makes use of the analogy between social organization and
the stage drama, role playing, and the terminology of staging. Goffman

94

uses concepts and terminology, such as performance, part, routine, front

region, back region, back-stage, staging, team performance, audience,
and discrepant roles such as informer (sells out the performers to the
audience), and shill (a member of the audience in league with the per
formers). Of his method Goffman (1959:xi) specifically states:
The perspective employed in this report is that of the theatrical
performance, the principles derived are dramaturgical ones. I
shall consider the way in which the individual in ordinary work
situations presents himself and his activity to others, the ways
in which he guides and controls the impression they form of
him, and the kinds of things he may and may not do while sus-r
taining his performance before them. In using this model, I
will attempt not to make light of its obvious inadequacies.
The stage presents things that are make-believe; presumably
life presents things that are real and sometimes not well
rehearsed. More important, perhaps, on the stage one player
presents himself in the guise of a character to characters
projected by other players; the audience constitutes a third
party to the interactionone that is essential and yet, if
the stage performance were real, one that would not be there.
In real life, the three parties are compressed into two; the
part one individual plays is tailored to the parts played by
the others present, and yet these others also constitute the
audience.
Obviously this methodology could prove to be quite useful in our analysis
of the Banari Easter ceremonial, as the ceremonial in many ways is a
drama enacted by performers in roles. At many points in the ceremonial,
you do have conscious actors and audience; for example, the 6apakoba
skits enacted before the children and their madrinas. It is also important
at this point that we keep Goffman's model in mind because it is the
basis of Young's (1965) explanation of initiation ceremonies, an explanation

95

which we will discuss at length in the final sections of this monograph,

There we will return to this concept of a ceremonial as a drama.
At the time the Mayo fieldwork was carried out neither my wife
nor I were familiar with the Goffman model, so its insights were not
used. Obviously some of them would have been highly meaningful. On
the other hand, I find the whole tone of the method highly non-anthropological. It tends to collapse the dual nature of the concept of social
usage. About the behavior observed, Goffman (1959:6) says: "Some
times he (the actor) will intentionally and consciously express himself
in a particular way, but chiefly because the tradition of his group or
social status require this kind of expression and not because of any
particular response. . . that is likely to be evoked from those impressed
by the expressions." (underscoring mine) Goffman (1959:16) also pro
vides an equivalence relation between his terminology (situational
terms) and the conventional terminology.
When an individual or performer plays the same part to the same
audience on different occasions, a social relationship is likely
to arise. Defining social role as the enactment of rights and'
duties attached to a given status, we can say that a social role
will involve one or more parts, and that each of these different
parts may be presented by the performer on a series of occasions
to the same kinds of audience or to an audience of the same
persons.
Thus it seems, Goffman assumes that the behavior is close to, if not iden
tical with, the rules. So for Goffman, a social usage becomes solely the
behavior. This type of orientation appears also in Sherri Cavan's book,

Liquor License: An Ethnography of Bar Behavior (1967). I much prefer

Radcliffe-Brown's model and feel that it is a more useful method for
the analysis of a non-European social organization.
To this point, we have discussed the units involved in the con
cept of a social organization; the social usages or norms and the roles.
Before turning to the social organization of the Pariserom, we should say
a word or two about the concepts of social organization and of social
structure. Very simply the structure is the underlying framework upon
which the statuses are positioned, whereas the organization is the order
ing of activities and of personnel, via the roles into the ongoing social
system. The social structure consists of a limited number of basic princi
ples (equality, dominance-subordinance, etc.) manifest in the set of
statuses consisting of limited types of social relations. Abstracted
models paralleling and yielding insight into a social structure can be
built without great difficulty as we did for the social structure of the
Parisero sodality and of the Easter ceremonial. The social organization
rooted in social usages and manifest in the actualization of linked activi
ties is less easily conceptualized in an abstract fashion. It is an attempt
to describe the organization of linked activities, to describe how indi
viduals cooperate in order that activities may take place in an orderly
and accumulating fashion. In other words, how do social usages build
into roles and roles into actualized ceremonials? These ideas seem to

me to be much in the spirit of the distinction between social structure

and social organization made by Radcliffe-Brown (1958:168-169 and
1952:11).
At this point, we shall turn to the data, the Banari Mayo Easter
ceremonial, in attempt to further justify our structural analysis in the
preceding section, and to delineate the norms and the social organization
of the ceremonial and of the Pariserom. In this section, we will discuss
the statuses mentioned in the preceding section, Pilato, Kapitan, Sargento, Kabo, Flautero, Tampalero, and Sapakoba, as roles and as the
units in the social organization. Each role will be analyzed in terms of
social usages. First the behavioral aspect and then the rules, the dual
aspects of social usages, will be considered. Finally the set of roles
will be unified in the social organization of the Pariserom and the inter
relationship of Parisero roles and roles of other sodalities will be ex
amined. After the above is accomplished, we will be prepared to examine
first the material apparatus as a basis or focus for the sharing of values
between the roles, a basis for cooperation and finally the integration
of all this into the activities with their underlying ritual symbols.
Pilato
In turning to the status of Pilato, we first examine the behavior
and then the rules associated with this role, Pilato. After the organiza
tion meetings before Lent begins, observations were made of Pilato behavior.

I am sure they must have been key organizers at the meeting the Sunday
before Lent. Also, it seems most likely that the Pilatos are major organizors of any formal initiation of new &apakobam. We were told twice
about a Parisero initiation which involved running to the ocean, however,
were not able to collect any more information about it. One of the in
formants was a Pilato of the Fuerte River Valley who spoke, giving the
information that he had led the ritual. Thus, it seems likely that in the
meetings preceding the First Friday of Lent's procession the Pilatos are
in the leadership role.
Before the Friday processions, early in the afternoon under a
large tree across the plaza from the church, we observed Pilatos gathering
groups of 6apakobam running to the church, accompanied by Kabos. The
Pilato mounted on a horse would wait until some twenty Gapakobam had
arrived. Then, riding his prancing horse, he would lead the two lines of
fcapakobam and several Kabos across the plaza and up to the church. Then
beside the church, he would dismount, a Kabo would take care of his horse,
and the Capakobam still in two lines would run the Way of the Cross three
times, konti. The Pilato then would go behind the church and into the
Paskome ramada to discuss the organization of the ceremony and other
matters until the time of the procession. As the afternoon progressed,
additional Pilatos with their following dual lines of fcapakobam came
prancing across the plaza, dismounting, and leaving their ttapakobam to

run the Way of the Cross three times, konti. Around 3:30 p.m. or 3:45
all the Pariserom had gathered behind the church. Soon, around 4:00 p.m.,
one of the Ya^ubim (officers) gave a formal speech to the bapakobam. It
consisted in elaboration of the following themes:
Consejo del Capitan del Tudfos (The counsel of the Kapitan of the
Judfos, Pariserom)
katem danyo^ota ho^owa# katem binota hi^ilata^a^abo ya# (Don11
do anything harmful; don't come drunk cdon't drink before
coming3.)
After about ten or fifteen minutes of talking, the Pilato calls a Sargento
or Kabo to take up a collection from the company on a drum. According to
our observation, it was more likely to be a Pilato who would give the
speech; however, a Kapitan or Sargento were observed to do so.
About the time that the above is concluding, the flutist, Flautero,
has concluded his playing to the images on the altar, and comes around
the church carrying the symbols of status of the Pilatom, the poles with
red patches, and of the Kapitanes, the swords. The Capakobam are led
in two long lines around to the front of the church, and the select Parisero
group forms and moves with precision out around the second station and
into the church.
Soon the procession leaves the church. During the procession,
over the Way of the Cross, the Pariserom are always visible standing in
a very official manner at one side or the other of the procession. At
Kalbario, after the konti the Pilatom lead the Pariserom off to one side

100

and they smoke and chat informally. On the return to the church again,
the Pariserom are obvious even though they are not part of the formal
ritual. For example, they might be standing on slightly higher ground
for all the participants to see. At these times, especially during some
of the rather long stops on the way back to the church, the chain of com
mand can be seen very easily. A Kabo may run up to a Flautero and whis
per a message to him. He turns his head to a Kapitan and passes the mes
sage on. The Kapitan's head turns to a Pilato, conveying the message.
Several Pilatom may whisper together and then a Pilato turns to a Kapitan
who takes another message. The Kapitan passes it on to the Flautero and
the Flautero to the Kabo. As the Ya 9 uttim stand in their rigid, attention
type position, this snapping of the head from one to another goes on
often enough for the observer to clearly see that messages are being
passed from Pilato to Kabo and vice versa. Also, it is a clear inference
that the decision making is at the Pilato level, because the Kabo runs up
with a question or in need of direction. It flows to the Pilato and then
back to the Kabo. And the Kabo runs off. Often, one can see a situation
developing, such as the bus case reported below, in relation to the Kabo
role. There is the snapping of heads from the Pilato down and suddenly
from nowhere there is a Kabo correcting the situations. Thus, in this
semi-ritual context, in the social usage of passing orders, the social
relation of Pilato dominance Kabo subordinance is manifest. The role

101

of Pilato as decision maker and supreme commander is enacted.

After the procession, the select Parisero group and the other
participants return to the church, and the Capakobam line up in front of
the church door. After a short service, the select Parisero group marches
out and around behind the church, and the two lines of Gapakobam are
led to the back of the church where they tilt back their masks, smoke
and relax. At this time there is another speech, most often by a Pilato;
however, we also observed other officers giving this speech. After the
speech, the Pariserom are free to run home, which many of them were
observed to do. It seems likely that the Pilato horses would be returned
to them and that they would gallop off, also towards their homes; how
ever, this was not observed.
On the fifth Friday of Lent, the procedure after the closing speech
was somewhat different, as some of the Pariserom went to a home cere
mony for resting Christ. After the closing speech, the Pilatom mounted
their horses, the remainder of the special Parisero group marched into
the church, and the fiapakobam lined up in front of the church. Soon the
Maestros, Paskome, and Pariserom left the church and proceeded to the
first station where there was a short service. Then, as the procession
moved to the second station, the mounted Pilatom circled their prancing
horses around the second station and then stood beside it during a short
service. Then, the Pilatom galloped off towards the home, where the

102

ceremony was to be held, with other members of the procession, carrying

the image of Christ, running after them. The Maestros, some of the
Paskome, Pilatom, and Gapakobam returned to the church and ultimately
to their own homes, not going to the special house ceremony. Again,
we have another instance of Pilato role behavior. The Pilatom on their
prancing horses are the visible and symbolic leaders. However, it is
the Maestro who is reading the ritual associated with this ceremonial
context.
The next set of Pilato behavior involves the capture of the
o o
' O 'ola, old man, and the collecting of limosnas, contributions, for
the coming ceremony. On Palm Sunday, the Pariserom go to the home
of the ? O ?ola and capture him like a prisoner as he attempts to escape
into the bush. The Pilatom have a major part to play in this ceremonial
capture. It seems likely, from discussion with informants, that the
Pilatom would appear on their prancing horses, would make a ritual
speech to the ^O^ola, and would issue the order to capture the

''ola.

?
On Monday, the group of the ?O'ola,
a Pilato, a Kapitan, Kabo, several
godparents of the ^O''ola, and several 6apakobam moved throughout
Camalobo accepting contributions, limosnas, from our house as well as
from many others in Camalobo and in the lower Mayo region. Again, the
Pilato was highly visible. When they visited our house, he did not have
a horse but stood aloof from the request for a limosna. A young boy,

103

with a plate into which limosnas were placed, headed the procession and
was the individual upon which most interaction was focused.
In the Tinieblas ceremony, the Pilatom are very much in view as
the Pariserom move across the plaza and into the church. They have an
important position in the church and lead the group to the cemetery to
pray after the church ceremony is over; however, they have no specific
ritual act to perform at this time. The next afternoon, Thursday, their
part is quite different. As the Pariserom moved across the plaza bring
ing the

?0

^ola and his company, compafifa, to the church, the Pilatom

with their scarlet and pink cloths covering their entire faces, were one
of the foci of the observers' attention. After a short service inside the
church, the special Pilato group brough the ? O ?ola and his compania
o
to the abaso, branch bower. Then the special Parisero group marched
to the church and back to the bower three times, all kneeling upon each re
turn to the bower. At this same time, the majority of the Gapakobam were
holding the crowd of observers outside of the sacred running area by form
ing a long line and holding the wooden sword of the person standing next.
After the third return to the bower, one of the Pilatom, Iscariot, made a
speech to the ?* O ?'ola in Mayo. Immediately after this, the ? O ? ola is
taken in the procession around the Way of the Cross and "knocked down."
Again, in this procession, the Pilatom are highly visible. But they are
not the central focus of ritual action.

104

After dark on Thursday, there is another procession in which the

Pilatom participate on horseback. This is a split procession with two
sections, one of Christ and one of Mary. The special Parisero group
splits into half with a half for each procession, as do the Pilatom with
half of the riders riding before each section of the procession. At each
station, during the short service, the Pilatom and the special Parisero
group faces the section of the procession with which they are marching.
As the procession moves between stations, the Pilatom are the full focus
of attention as they are riding their prancing horses at full speed, first
away from the procession, then wheeling and charging toward the pro
cession and wheeling again just at the moment when one thinks they will
collide with the procession. These Pilatom, erect and upright in their
saddles with their bright red cloth veils, riding their prancing horses
through the darkness of the night, are truly an impressive sight.
Good Flriday is a very important day for Pilatom. First, they must
direct the running of the Pariserom to all Mayo households in order to
pull up the house crosses. This takes place from very early Friday morn
ing until early Friday afternoon, as it takes some time to cover the entire
territory. The actual removal of a house cross was observed in 1965.
The group included a Pilato on horseback, a Kapitan or other officer,
and a number of fcapakobam.

The Pilato led the group into the yard, and

then pulled his horse to the side while the house owner and his wife

105

made a contribution to the Parisero officer, and the house cross was
pulled up. Then he galloped off with the group running behind. While
the Pilato was standing to the side, and the fiapakobam were running
around the cross, the house owner went up to the Pilato to explain that
I wished to attend the ceremony. At this time, the Pilato and I exchanged
the full set of greetings and he welcomed me. While this was taking
place, a second set of Pariserom arrived with a second Pilato, whom I
also greeted and who welcomed me. Then, both groups went off in dif
ferent directions pulling up house crosses, tebatpo kurusim, as they
proceeded. I mention this incident for several reasons. First, the
social usages clearly involve a mounted Pilato leading this tropa (troop).
When the time comes to carry out the actual pulling up of the cross, the
carrying out of the order, the Pilato steps to the side and a lesser officer
takes over. Second, the official representative aspect of the Pilato role
is shown. The fact that a second Pilato and his tropa went out of their
way to add their official okay emphasizes the importance of this aspect
of the Pilato role.
Late Friday afternoon, the special Parisero group flanked on both
sides by Gapakobam, moves across the plaza to the church patio, where
the tapakobam line up in two long lines and the Pilatom move up to a line
drawn in the dirt directly in front of the church steps. The Pilatom have
exchanged their red face coverings for ones of black cloth. They take

106

twelve steps hesitating after each, while the Maestro reads a short
service within the church. Suddenly, they rush into the church and one
of the Pilatos thrusts his sword into the

abaso branch bower where the

large and small crucifixes of Christ have been placed. Immediately

they leave the church and march around behind it. In the evening, after
the Mass of the Dead, two split processions around the Way of the Cross
take place. In these processions, the Pilatom ride horses and perform
as described above for the procession after the running of the ^O^ola.
Thus, they commit the act of crucifixion of Christ and then retire to a
visible place in the processions. They are less visible than the preced
ing night, however, because the procession is much larger and their
riding is more a part of a larger whole than a performance in itself.
After the Resurrection of Christ early Saturday morning, the Pilatom
become passive. On Saturday morning around 11 a.m. the Gloria takes
place. The Pariserom arrive at the church and the special Parisero group
goes behind a huge curtain which blocks off the altar and area directly
in front of it from the rest of the church. For this reason, no specific
observations of Pilato behavior could be made during this part of the
ceremony. However, several lines of evidence would indicate that their
behavior is passive. First, they have their black banners which stick
up above the curtain in their hands. The banners do not change posi
tion, but wave slightly as if the Pilatom were kneeling while the Maestro

107

conducts the ritual. At three points in the ritual a special combined

A
group of Paskolas, Gapakobam, and Alawasim break from behind the
O
curtain and run to the church cross, kurus yo 'owe, and back behind the
curtain. The Pilatom do not take part in this running. Second, the re
mainder of the 6apakobam are removing their masks, other paraphernalia,
kneeling and baring their backs in anticipation of the arrival of the
Maestro, who will baptize them by flicking water on their backs. I feel
it is reasonable to assume that the same activity is going on behind the
curtain, that the Pilatom are kneeling, have removed their ritual para
phernalia, have bared their backs and are being baptized by the Maestro.
Thirdly, the godparents of the Pilatom are behind the curtain. Since god
parents are a necessary part of the baptism ceremony, I infer that the
Parisero godparents are behind the curtain in order that they may play
their part in the baptism of the Pilatom, and that the ritual going on be
hind the curtain is the baptism of the Pilatom . This means that at this
point, a very crucial point in the ceremonial, the Pilatom are passive
recipients of action. They are the focus of interest, but the actual run
ning, the actual baptism, and the carrying out of the ritual is not part
of their role, but of those who represent the risen Christ. After the above
ceremony was completed, the Paskola and Maso dancers began dancing
in the paskola ramada. As this time, near the ramada, one of the Pilatom
came up to us to ask if we were enjoying the beautiful ceremony. This

108

provides us with another case of the Pilato role as one of official welcomer and go-between.
On Easter Sunday morning around 11 a.m., Pilato behavior again
is of key import. The ceremony, the resurrection, symbolizes the return
of Christ to His Mother, Mary, the church. The Pariserom, with the
image of Christ, proceed from the paskola ramada, and the Paskome and
the church group with the image of Mary proceed from the church and
both meet half way between the church and the paskola ramada on a
swept ''abaso twig-lined knoti bo^o. The Pilatom have on their black
veils. When the processions are almost together, the Pilatom split,
with half remaining with the procession of Christ and half coming over
to the procession of Mary. Then they step to the side, leaving an open
area between the images of Christ and Mary in which the image of San
Juan "runs" (is carried) three times between Mary and Christ. After the
"runs" the two processions come together. It is at this time that the
Pilatom, as well as the Kapitanes, are acted upon or are the focus of
ritual. Many people have brought egg shells filled with colored paper
which they now crack over the heads of the Pilatom and Kapitanes. This
makes the sound of crackling fires and symbolizes the final consumption
by fire of the Pilatom, the crucifiers of Christ. Through this final act,
as well as the baptism of the day before, the Pilatom have become men
again.

109

Before fitting the social usages into the role of Pilato, we must
consider some Mayo expectations and concepts of the role. First, Mayos
expect that Pilatom will see to it that correct behavior is maintained and
that the ceremony is properly organized. For example, we observed
drunkenness in a Parisero being reported to a Pilato. In the Pilato speech
above, one thing that is mentioned is do not drink or at least do not come
to the ceremony drunk. It was expected then that the Pilato would handle
the discipline of the drunk Parisero. Also, at another time, it was re
ported to us that a Pilato was away seeking Paskolas to dance for the
Easter pasko, the Saturday and Easter Sunday aspects of the ceremonial.
Thus, Mayos expect the Pilato to oversee the organization of the cere
monial and see to the correction or punishment of infractions of the rules
of the ceremonials.
Second, we should mention the idea or expectation that if one
shakes hands with one of the Pariserom Ya^uCim (officers) or with one of
the Pilatom, he should shake hands with them all. The idea here is that
all Pilatom, all the persons within a role, should be treated equally. This
idea, of course, permeates Mayo social usages and provides a link be
tween Pilato social usages and other roles. An additional example is the
idea that money should not be given to an individual, but to the community
as a whole, all equally. Opposite to this rule, however, is the idea that
as role representatives, persons may be treated in a differential manner.

110

Another distinction in Pilato behavior which Mayos make is of a

more cultural rather than social nature. Pilatos riding horses are dif
ferent from ones not on horseback, and are called Kabayum. Thus, the
increased visibleness of Pilatom on horseback, which we observed as
behavior, is recognized also by Mayos in the category of Kabayum. Also,
some remarks by a young man from Arokosi about the Easter ceremonial
there reinforce our inferences. He said that the Ar6kosi ceremonial is
not as good as the Banari one because the Bcinari ceremonial is more com
plex. In Ar6kosi, the Way of the Cross is short, just around the church,
whereas the BSnari one is much longer. Also, there are very few horses
in Ar6kosi, although there the Pilatos ride horses also. This suggests
that it is definitely part of a Pilato's role to ride a horse, and that the
quality of the ceremonial may depend upon it. Also, the complexity of
the ceremonial is another important factor in its quality. Thus, the
Kabayum distinction is an important one for Mayos.
Lastly and probably most important in the role of Pilato, is the
expected act, the crucifixion of Christ. Many Mayos made remarks such
as the following, about this expectation of the role, Pilato. "When they
there they do not refer to the Pilatoml put the crown on Christ the blood
will run down, and when the Pilato hits him with his lance, his Christ's
eyes will open. " "X is jefe [chief] of all the Pariseros, he kills Christ,
he has a manda. " From the Mayo orientation toward the Parisero role, we

Ill

may conclude that it involves organizing the ceremonial in a decision

making capacity, as well as the display of the power to command, the
horseback riding, and the ultimate authority to carry out the death sen
tence actualized in the crucifixion.
In thinking back through the behavior presented and the rules
discussed, we can isolate four dimensions, features, or parameters of
the role Parisero. These parameters might be described as to be 1)
representative, 2) obviously present, 3) the center of ritual, and 4) the
ritual.
The representative parameter involves the capacity of an official
go-between. The Pilato is the person who, during Lent, represents the
voice of the community in its relations with the outside world. It is
his responsibility to welcome and accept outsiders, and to maintain
channels of communication necessary to obtain the necessary input
for the ceremonial, for example, Paskolas and limosnas.
Even though the Pilato is not acting at the time, his presence
often is obvious or highly visible. He can always be seen, and his
presence symbolically represents the final act, the crucifixion of Christ.
We see him first leading the Capakobam to the church on the numerous
Fridays of Lent. His presence is felt during the Friday processions
and often he can be seen standing at attention on higher ground above
the procession. He is part of the procession taking the

O ola around

112

to Mayo homes for the collection of limosnas. He becomes highly visible

when riding a horse in the processions Thursday and Friday evenings, and
in leading the tropa to pull up the tebatpo kurusim. His red, and then
black, veil also focuses attention upon him. Part of the role of Pilato
is being extremely visible, but also being extremely aloof, of being com
pletely above menial tasks or the carrying out of orders. This feeling
is communicated by the fact that the Pilato symbolically is extremely
important, highly visible, but he stoops to action only twice. There are
only two acts which are of such great importance that the Pilato must
carry them out himself. The Pilato is not to be seen running wildly about,
shouting orders to his followers and to all others, cursing, and welding
a group of persons into a unified ceremonial. But rather it is his calm
formal powerful presence which carries the legitimacy to command. It
is this dynamic interplay between the Pilato's extreme visibility and his
almost inactive aloofness which provides the basis for his ultimate bid
for absolute power.
The ultimate bid for power is even more impressive because at
this point, the Pilato becomes the ritual. This happens only twice, once
when the Pilato, Iscariot, orders the ''o^ola out of the ^abaso bower
preceding the procession in which the ?4 O ?'ola is "knocked down, " and
o
secondly, when the Pilato runs his lance into the abaso bower which
houses the crucifixes. Both acts symbolize the same attempt, the murder

113

o 9
of Christ and the assumption of absolute power. The 'O 'ola symbolizes
Christ (Kristota benasi) and the falling symbolizes death and the cruci
fixion. Of course, the running of the lance into the bower symbolized
the crucifixion of Christ. Thus, at the climax of the ceremonial, the
Pilato role dramatically changes character from inactive aloofness to
activity. The crucial act of the ceremonial is not left up to even a Kapitan, but must be carried out by the Pilato. Thus, with the climax of the
ceremonial, we have an abrupt change in the Pilato role.
A third shift in the Pilato role also takes place, from the ritual
to the focus of ritual. In some contexts, the Pilatom are more important
in terms of the ritual of the moment but remain inactive. They become
the center of ritual concern of the complete group and not of just their
officers and men. On Saturday, when they are baptized, and again on
Sunday, when the eggs filled with confetti are cracked on their heads,
they become the passive concerns or foci of ritual. It is of extreme im
portance that both these rituals take place later in Easter week, because
they symbolize not the all powerful Pilato, but the final destruction of
the Pilato and the return of the individual to the category of human. It
symbolizes the acting of society upon a role, the destruction of the
Pilato by the Church, and the return of the individual to the role of an
ordinary man. Thus, for the first time during Lent, the Pilato has be
come the passive, powerless, focus of ceremonial activity.

114

In conclusion, the Pilato role can be seen as characterized by

extreme authority, as well as by four parameters or dimensions of this
authority. A Pilato is always an important representative of the commun
ity and is respected as such. The other three parameters change dramati
cally as the ceremonial builds to a climax and then concludes. The
Pilato role changes from extreme visibility and inactive aloofness to
key activity in the crucifixion of Christ and the bid for ultimate power,
to a passive recipient of action as the role of Pilate is destroyed by fire,
and the individuals become men again.
Kapitan
In turning to the Kapitan role and social usages, several general
considerations should be noted. The Kapitan role and social usages are
a very much watered down mirror of the Pilato role. The Kapitan is
second in command to the Pilato and represents him in the Pilato's ab
sence. Also, very few specific observations of Kapitan social usages
were made, as the role is so eclipsed by the Pilato that it is hard to
recognize it as importantly different from that of Pilato.
Before the Friday processions, a Kapitan as well as the Pilatom
might organize a set of Capakobam and lead them himself across the
plaza to the church. One of the Kapitanes might give the speech of
counsel before and after the Friday procession to the ftapakobam.

In

fact, the informant who gave us the speech mentioned above called it

115

"Consejo del Capitan del Judfos," although our observations note that
a Pilato gave the speech more often than a Kapitan.
Just before the Friday processions, a flutist (Flautero) brings
the Kapitanes' swords, as well as the Pilato emblems to them. The
special Parisero group forms with the Pilatom in the center of the second
line and the Kapitanes on each end of this second line. This positioning,
one of Kapitan vulnerability and Pilato protection, further symbolizes the
lower rank of the Kapitanes and emphasizes their function as protectors
of the Pilatom. Also, during the procession, the positioning is such
that a Kapitan is standing next to a Pilato so that when an order is passed,
it moves from Pilato to Kapitan to Kabo, or when a request or question is
placed, it moves from a Kabo to a Kapitan to a Pilato. Thus, the Kapitan
sees to it that the Pilato's order is carried out. He does this in the
majority of cases by calling a Kabo to actuate the order. If the order is
important enough, the Kapitan may actually carry it out himself. One
case of this kind was observed during the Friday processions. A Kapitan
came up to me, and after delivering a rather long speech in Mayo, con
cluded with a request for a limosna, an offering, for the coming pasko,
ceremonial. Contact with strangers, a contact in which the community
is represented, is part of the Pilato role. On the other hand, limosnas
within the Mayo group are collected by Kabos or other lesser ranking per
sons; for example, a young boy carried the limosna plate in the limosna

116

o 9
procession of the 'O ola. Also, we shall see below that Kabos collect
the dues within the Parisero sodality. From these assorted facts, I
infer that a compromise was reached in the case of collection of limosnas
from strangers. The task was too important for a Kabo. On the other
hand, Pilatom do not collect money. Thus, a compromise solution was
reached and the Kapitan collected our limosna. This solution fits nicely
into our projected Kapitan role.
Although not observed, it is very likely that along with the Pilatorn, the Kapitanes were important in the ritual capture of the

?
1

O? ola.

A Kapitan is present in the ?O ? ola limosna procession and slightly after

the procession left our home, a second group of Capakobam led by a
Kapitan came by hurriedly, moving in the direction that the procession
had taken, apparently trying to catch the main procession. This is a
case then of a Kapitan organizing and leading a group of ftapakobam in
the absence of a Pilato.
On Easter Thursday, recall that just before the Pilato calls the
? o
o
O ola out of the abaso bower, there is a pattern of three movements
from the church to the bower, and kneelings at the bower. The Kapi
tanes along with the special Parisero group are part of this ritual. In
the late Thursday evening procession and in the two late Friday evening
processions when the Pilatom are riding horses, the Kapitanes take
their position in the procession. These are split processions with a

117

Cristo group, 'itom ^Afiai (Our Father) and a Maria group, 'itom ^Aye
(Our Mother) and therefore the Pariserom are split with half going with
each group. As the procession stops at each of the way stations for a
short service, the Kapitanes and Pariserom on foot line up in front and
facing the half of the procession with which it is aligned, and the Pilatom
on horseback hold their horses facing the group and just in front of the
Pariserom on foot. Thus, in this formation, the Kapitanes are replacing
the Pilatom while the latter are on horseback.
The Kapitanes also take part in the running to Mayo homes to
pull up the tebatpo kurusim. It seems quite definite that a Kapitan, or
a Kabo, depending upon which officer is present, actually removes the
cross. Part of the role of Kapitan then involves the removal of the
tebatpo kurusim, which symbolizes the crucifixion of Christ. Also,
during the time of the twelve steps and lancing of Christ by the Pilato
late Friday afternoon, the Kapitanes are standing at their sides, nearly
as much a part of the ritual act as the Pilatom.
Finally, during the two ceremonies which symbolize the de
struction of the Pariserom and the return of the individuals to manhood,
the Kapitanes are at the sides of the Pilatom. Both the Pilatom and the
Kapitanes take their places behind the curtain during the baptism of all
the Pariserom on Saturday of Gloria. Both have eggs filled with

118

confetti cracked over their heads, symbolizing the burning of the

Pariserom.
In summary, the Kapitan role and social usages involve several
parameters of their basic position in the authority structure, second in
command to Pilato. First, the Kapitan protects the Pilato, as seen in
their procession formation. Second, he carries out the orders of the
Pilato or sees to it that they are carried out. He may pass them on to a
Kabo, as in the Friday processions, or he may carry them out himself, as
in the request for limosnas or in the removal of the tebatpo kurusim.
Thirdly, he represents the Pilato role if the latter is occupied or absent;
for example, when the Pilato is on horseback, the Kapitan moves into
his position in the procession. Although not from the Mayo River Valley,
the following case emphasizes this aspect or parameter of the Kapitan
role (R. Spicer 1939:21-22 and 193).
. The head of the fariseos is the capitan (captain). He is
elected by the society every three years and must be a man of
long experience with the Easter ceremonies for he is head, not
only of his group, but of all the other performers while the
ceremony lasts, and he must see that everything is done at the
proper time. . . . There are also two Pilatos, representing
Pontius Pilate. The Pilato mayor was supposed to be the head
of the ceremonies rather than the capitan, but it was not true in
this case because both of the Pilatos were young and inexperi
enced boys. Despite their age, they did command a certain
amount of respect from the others, but they did mostly as the
captain instructed them.

119

There is also a feeling at Pascua that Pilato should act

differently from the way he does; that it is he who is the head
of all the activities of the Easter fiesta, not the captain
of the fariseos, and that he should sit in a chair and
give orders.
Thus, the Kapitan is second in command and has the knowledge and
power to take over the organization of the ceremonial in the absence
or incompetence of the Pilato.
Flautero and Tampalero
Since the order of rank at this point is not entirely clear, we
shall turn first to the Flautero (flutist) and Tampalero (drummer) and
then to the Sargento and Kabo. The rank order is of little importance
because these roles are complementary in function, rather than hier
archical. All the four roles are in the service of the Pilato and Kapitan
and are commanded by these latter. No observations of superordinatesubordinate behavior between the musician roles, Flautero and
Tampalero, and the lesser officers, the Sargento and Kabo, were
made. The musician roles are definitely subordinate to the Pilato
and Kapitan, however. Before each of the Friday afternoon processions,
the Flautero, who has just played a solo in the church, carries out the
symbols of ritual status, swords and banners, to the Pilatom and Kapitanes. This behavior indicates the subordinate status of the Flautero

120

and by inference the Tampalero roles in regard to the Pilato and

Kapitan roles.
The position of the Flautero and the Tampalero in the special
Parisero group also indicated their subordinate status, as well as their
special function as music makers. They are in the first line, just in
front of the Pilatom and Kapitanes. The Tampalero stands on the lefthand side of the Flautero. The first Pariserom one sees, besides a Kabo
here or there, as they approach coming across the plaza, are the
Flautero and Tampalero. In this sense they are in a more vulnerable
position than the Pilatom. On the other hand, they are select members
of the special Parisero group. The Flautero has an especially important
function. A little after 3 p.m. each Friday of Lent, except Good Friday,
the Sacristan rings the church bells to announce the service. Almost
immediately the Flautero begins to play a long melodic flute solo to the
images on the altar. Standing directly before the altar in an otherwise
empty church, he plays. While he is completing his solo, the little
children, angelitos, and their godmothers have begun to enter the church.
Then he leaves, carrying their symbols of status to the Pilatom and
Kapitanes. Soon the special Parisero group forms and the Tampalero
and the Flautero play as they move into the church. Within the church,
the Pariserom cross their swords in front of the altar and the Flautero

121

plays another solo to the Images. Soon the procession forms and they
do the Way of the Cross led by the playing of the Tampalero and the
Flautero. Their playing is also a part of processions taking place
during Holy Week, and is especially a key part of the build to a climax
when the candles are extinguished one by one in the Tinieblas service
Wednesday night. After each candle is put out, there is a series of
drumming and flute playing while the Gapakobam march around the
Ya^uttim, who are standing in the center of the church. The music
reaches a climax when all the candles are extinguished and the Gapakobam call or yell like the animals of the night, and everyone is very
frightened.

As fire is struck and the first candle lit, the Gapakobam

thunder from the church and the special Parisero group marches out of
the church led by the playing of the Flautero and Tampalero. After this
mad rush from the church, they regroup and the Flautero and Tampalero
and Pilatom lead the Pariserom and the church groups to the cemetery
to pray. These roles are crucial in the production of the Easter
ceremonial.
The mention of this behavior, especially the playing of the
Flautero to the images, was also discussed at length by our informants.
They call it praying. Thus, the roles of Tampalero and Flautero involve
important behavior in an observable sense, as well as key symbolic
activities in the minds of the Mayos.

122

Sargento and Kabo

While the behavior and music making of the Tampalero and
Flautero is of a deeply ritual and sacred nature, like praying, the be
havior of the Sargento and the Kabo is oriented around the much more
practical concern of carrying out orders and making sure the ceremonial
goes smoothly and according to prescribed ritual.
In our discussion, we will lump the roles of Sargento and Kabo,
because no consistent identification of behavior or of individuals with
these two roles leads us to make a satisfactory distinction. For example,
one individual claimed to be a Sargento and argued that he could carry a
sword if he possessed one, but since he did not he carried a machete as
do the Kabos. Another member of the Parisero society claimed this indi
vidual was a Kabo. This individual did seem to have more authority than
the average Kabo; however, this may be a personality characteristic
rather than a different role identification. This same individual, in giving
us the following list of members of the Pariserom, "komponente de la
Cuaresma." listed Sargentos as an after-thought, and then on the same
level and beside Kabo. His list is Pilato Mayor (general), Pilato
Segundo (general brigadier), Pilato Tersero (general brigadier), Kapitan
Primero, Kapitan Segundo, Kapitan Tersero, Kabo Primero (Sargentos
given as the gloss of Kabo as general was given for Pilato), Kabo Segundo

123

(Sargento), Primer Flautero, Segundo Flautero, Terser Flautero, and

Tropa. Thus, unless noted to the contrary, when we mention Kabo we
are also including the Sargento role.
Kabo behavior which is diverse focuses around this notion of
carrying out orders and making certain the ceremonial takes place in
accordance with tradition. On the Fridays of Lent the Kabos gather
bands of Sapakobam and lead them from their homes through the fields
and to the ?abaso tree across the plaza from the church, from where
the Pilato leads them on to the church. Between the time that the
Pariserom begin to arrive and run the Way of the Cross three times and
the procession itself, a great deal of ^apakoba pantomime, as well as
other preparation takes place. The Kabos are key in making sure every
thing is organized and goes smoothly. For example, one Friday after
noon a horse staggered up to the side door of the church and then
wandered off some fifty feet, fell to the ground and died. This attracted
a large crowd of inquisitive boys and pantomiming Gapakobam. Before
anyone got injured or the crowd got too large, a Kabo went over and
shooed away the boys and Sapakobam.
Before the procession, the Kabos begin to round up the ttapakobam.
One Kabo entered the church to gather the Sapakobam who were panto
miming marriage, sexual relations, curing for the benefit of the Saints
and the women and children who were gathering for the procession. When

124

the Pariserom were gathered behind the church, a Pilato made a speech.
Then the individual, claiming to be a Sargento, made a speech and took
up a collection on a drum one Friday, a small wooden table another, and
on his pink cloth neck band on a third Friday. He then made notations in
a book of those who had contributed, and of the amount as an overall 10
peso "dues" (contribution) is expected from each Parisero. Then the Kabos
led the fiapakobam in two lines to the front of the church. The Kabo takes
the wooden sword of the first ttapakoba and each successive one grabs
the sword of his neighbor. When they get to the front of the church, the
Kabo sticks the point of the first Capakoba up to the adobe bricks of the
church.
The Kabos continue to organize the procession. For example, one
o

was observed to ask a spectator to help carry the he eka, large cloth
shade, over the image in the procession, which the spectator did. In
O
the procession, one told me where the konti bo o, the procession road
or Way of the Cross, went and to walk within it. Another supervised
getting automobiles through the procession, as the Way of the Cross
runs along an old dirt road which in early 1961 was the main road from
Banari to Camalobo. Also, a bus came through the procession, opened
its doors and persons began to drop out of the procession and enter the
bus. A Kabo called a Capakoba, who stood in front of the door so
nobody could enter. Another Kabo chased persons who were standing

125

on high ground above the dirt road and the procession down onto the road
bed and into the procession. During the procession, the Kabos are not
with the special parisero group, but are ranging informally around the
procession, keeping order and taking care of small crises in organization.
Some may not go on the procession but remain at the church to fold up
o
the he eka, the cloth image shade, upon the return of the procession.
o
The he eka is folded on the church steps just after the image enters the
church.
After the procession, the Kabos lead the Capakobam around behind
the church for the final closing Pilato speech. Then each Kabo leads
his band of tJapakobam back, away from the church, through the fields,
and towards their homes.
During Easter week, the Kabo role is similar to that sketched
above. Early in the week they gather their bands of fcapakobam and join
the ? O ? ola limosna procession going from house to house for contri
butions. A Kabo or several are always with this procession to make sure
everything moves satisfactorily.
On Wednesday night, Tinieblas, the Kabos are important organ
izers. During the service of extinguishing the candles the Pilatom,
Kapitanes, and Flauteros and Tampalero stand in the center of the church
and are encircled by the shouting, drumming, running 6apakobam. It is
up to the Kabos then to supervise the ceremony, and they can be seen

126

running everywhere directing participants. At the extinction of the last

candle, one of the Kabos switched off the electric lights, leaving the
church in nearly total darkness for a short period of time. Then he
switched the lights back on after new fire had been made and the first
candle lighted.
On Thursday, the Kabos were prominently visible in the procession, bringing the ?* O ? ola to the ? abaso bower, and several of them
took part in the movement of the special Parisero group three times from
the church to the bower. They all knelt each time they arrived at the
bower. In the procession of the ? O ?ola when he was "knocked down, "
the Kabos made sure that the procession was as orderly as possible.
When one Gapakoba accidently ran into one of the ^O^ola's madrinas,
knocking her down, a Kabo shoved the Capakoba into a line of Gapakobam
who were not running at the ^O^ola. After the knocking down of the
? O? ola, the next observed behavior of the Kabo involves the procession
to all Mayo houses to knock down the tebatpo kurusim. The Kabos were
a part of this activity, and either Kabos or Kapitanes were responsible
for the removing of the cross itself. Also, within this context after the
crucifixion, a member of the Parisero sodality aided in the removal of
the wooden life size image of Christ from the cross. It seems very
likely that this individual would be a Kabo; however, the observations
at this point simply state a Parisero aided.

127

In the baptism ceremony on Saturday, Kabos also have specific

behavioral functions. Before the ftapakobam remove their masks and
O
are baptized, the Kabos take the long hu upa (mesquite) switches which
they are holding and break these in half, returning one half to the Gapakoba and throwing the other half upon the church roof. After the baptism
is completed, the fcapakobam go to the church altar with their godparents
and then leave the church and, going to one side of the church, throw
their masks, swords, and other disposable paraphernalia on a large
bonfire. This fire is being maintained by the Kabos. The Kabos are
stationed here to make sure all the masks are burned up. Also, after
the baptism, several Kabos are to be found at the paskola dance ramada
where they are supervising and maintaining order. During the pasko
part of the ceremonial, while dancing is going on, there will be several
Kabos at the ramada fulfilling this function. In conclusion, the be
havioral evidence indicates that the position of Sargento and Kabo mainly
involves policing the ceremonial, maintaining order, carrying out com
mands, and seeing to the organization of the ceremonial at a very practical
level. It is possible that the Sargento may have somewhat more authority
than the Kabo. He may collect the limosna contributions of the Pariserom
and keep the record of those who have contributed. He, also at times,
may make short speeches to the membership. However, both Sargentos

128

and Kabos are basically responsible for carrying out orders and organiza
tion on the basic levels of the ceremonial.
Several items of ideal behavior should also be noted. Easter
Sunday morning one of the Kabos offered to show me how to mukti, to
pay one's respects to the Saints. I infer that this is the traditional
Parisero mukti pattern. At each point in the pattern we cross ourselves
in the traditional Mayo manner. With one's right hand, he makes a
cross by placing his thumb over his first finger. Then, he touches his
thumbnail to his head (he inscribes a small cross on his forehead with
the nail), to his lips, then to his left shoulder, to the center chest, to
the right shoulder, back to the lips, and then to his lower chest. This
is the ideal pattern; however, in practice it is done very quickly and
involves touching the forehead, moving by the lips to the left shoulder
to the right of the lips, and a drop to the low center chest or some other
version of this. In the mukti pattern, which the Kabo demonstrated to
me, we went to the large image of Christ on the cross which was
standing directly in front of the altar, Easter Sunday morning. Here we
knelt and crossed ourselves praying. We went to the Saint on our far
right, knelt and crossed ourselves praying. (This probably was a small
image of Christ, but it was not entirely clear to me which image we
were addressing.) We then went to the image of Mary which was on
the altar just to the right of the large image of Christ on the cross and

129

crossed ourselves and prayed. Then, we returned to the large Christ

image and crossed ourselves and the Kabo wiped the brow of Christ with
his hand. Then we turned and left the church. The interesting fact here
is the amount of attention paid to the image of Christ on the cross. Since
he is the main patron saint of the Pariserom, this special attention is
paid to him by Pariserom.
The second expectation of a Kabo, the same as that of a Pilato
and Kapitan, is that he is a retainer and source of ritual knowledge.
One of our Kabo friends was more oriented toward social interaction
than intellectual activities. One afternoon, he was attempting to recall
and explain the ceremonial cycle and was succeeding only with numerous
promptings by his wife, a more intellectual and very Mayo woman. With
each prompt, she reminded him that as a member of the Pariserom, he
should know all this and better than she. "You are a Parisero and don't
know that! How dense your head is 1"
In conclusion, Kabos are expected to be retainers and sources
of ritual knowledge; however, in practice their role focuses upon the
practical problems involved in the production of the ceremonial, follow
ing commands, and policing the ritual.
feapakoba
Lastly, we tum to an analysis of the role of Capakoba, the
troop (tropa) of the Pilatom. To the outsider the role is perhaps the

130

most obvious and indeed as we shall see, involves a complex set of

behavior. In order to classify the description, we shall divide the
Capakoba role into three functions: a policing or protection of the
customs function, a participation or work function, and a ritual bur
lesque or a clowning function.
First, we shall turn to the ftapakoba role in the protection of
the customs. Before the processions on the Fridays of Lent, while some
of the 6apakobam were developing ritual burlesques within the church,
two stood in front of the altar with their wooden lances crossed in front
of the altar. Occasionally, the others would turn upon these two
guarding and attack or burlesque them; however, the two stood fast and
repulsed any comic or physical attack. One Friday, when a dying horse
wandered up to the side door of the church, it was several Capakobam
who chased him away from the church. Also, later within the procession
itself, the Gapakobam would be checking behavior and correcting of
fenders. For example, during the procession, occasional old women
would tire and leave. The fiapakobam would observe this and step up
to the women, pointing and clacking their wooden knives and swords.
This was observed not to deter the woman, and she would shout some
thing to the ttapakoba and continue on. Or if a woman did not kneel
properly, a Capakoba spotting the error would tap her on the head with
his wooden sword. One is expected to kneel with his body in a straight

131

position and not to rest his buttocks upon his feet. If necessary, the
6apakoba will provide the exemplary model. In one very difficult place
where there were many hard clods and quite an incline, some women could
not or would not kneel. The Gapakobam fussed at them and they in return
told the bapakobam to try kneeling there themselves. At this, one of the
Gapakobam came over and knelt. Then he pointed to the women, indi
cating, "I did it; now you do it." By this time, the procession was on
its way, so an ultimate show-down was not necessary. Also, in the case
of the bus moving through the procession and then opening its door so
that some young women got aboard and others were preparing to do so,
it was a Gapakoba who was called to stand in front of the door so that
no others could enter. An even more vivid, but sad, example proves
this point. Individuals on horseback, not sacred performers or worship
pers, would often press into the procession from the rear. The 6apakobam
would often chase the horses away, which always was a relief to me be
cause I was not very happy at the idea of being trampled by a horse. In
one case, a rider would not leave, so a (iapakoba whipped his horse and
the horse fell on the rider, twisting the young man's leg, and causing
much excitement. One of the Sapakobam helped the boy to the side of
the road and worked his leg, while others made fun and limped, mimick
ing the injured young man. Jumping for just a minute to ideal patterns,
we asked one of our informants, who had been a bapakoba, about the

132

disrespect of many for the ceremonial. Why, for instance, do some

sell in the sacred church plaza? We asked if the people do not know
the customs and he answered, yes they know them, but they do not pay
any attention. He reminded us of the horse incident and the injured
boy and said that it was what the boy deserved for not obeying the
Parisero (ftapakoba). He had no sympathy for the boy. In guarding the
custom, the tJapakobam are absolute authorities and if one disobeys them,
he must accept the consequences. One should know the customs, and if
he has forgotten and is being corrected, he must accept the correction or
risk the wrath of the Pariserom and their patron saint,

Itom

?
Attai.

In the very large procession after the crucifixion of Christ, the

tiapakobam walking with the back part of the procession, signaled to the
personnel in their part of the procession when to kneel, which most of
the individuals did. Also, during the night before the running and "knocking down" of the ?'O ? ola, he is fed bread and coffee by the Pariserom and
the CJapakobam make sure that he does not sleep. Again during the night
of Good Friday after Christ has been crucified, the Gapakobam make sure
that the individuals who have made a manda stay in the church, do not
sleep. One young mestizo woman who had been promised to serve three
years as a retainer of the Virgin said how hard it was for her to stay
awake and if one fell asleep, the ttapakobam would poke him or her with
their wooden swords. One of our friends, whose seventeen year old

133

son was serving as a fcapakoba, also spent this night in the church be
cause his son was a Gapakoba. Thus, the Sapakobam maintain the cus
toms by enforcing the norms associated with ceremonial participation.
The 6apakobam also protect and guard the processions. Before
every Friday procession, two lines of Capakobam are led to the front of the
church where the first places his wooden sword into the brick wall of the
church and each grasps the sword of his neighbor, making two solid lines
extending out from the front of the church. In between these lines is the
secret path, konti bo^o, of the procession. Also, in the ritual associated
with the calling of the

o o
?
O *ola from the abaso bower in front of the church,

while the Pilato's speech to the ^O^ola is taking place, the Gapakobam
have formed a large impenetrable square around this area by each holding
the sword of his neighbor. Thus, they protect the ritual from the observers.
In the following procession, when the fiapakobam try to knock down the
?' O ?'ola, there is also much joking, pushing, and joviality in the crowd
following behind and at the sides of the procession, so the bapakobam
who are not actually running at the ^O^ola and his madrinas are walking
along on both sides, holding their neighbor's sword, forming a line be
tween the procession proper and the onlookers. Also, during the later pro
cessions in Holy Week, Thursday and Friday nights they perform this same
function.
On Easter Sunday they guard the sacred way, sewateri, which they
have helped to construct and which runs from the paskola ramada to the

134

church, and is lined on both sides by ^abaso twigs. By 7 a.m. on Sun

day when we arrived, this way was just being completed. From that time
until around 11 a.m. when the meeting of Christ and Mary takes place,
dapakobam can be seen guarding the area. By this time, of course,
their masks have been burned, but they are wearing hats and colored
o
cloths over their mouths and either playing on a drum or carrying a hu upa
(mesquite) switch. One told us please not to step on the way. Also, be
fore this ritual, informants graphically explained that the sacred way
would be made on Sunday, and that we should not step on it or drive
across it. Later on in the morning, we actually observed a horse and
rider step on the way and a former Capakoba struck the horse with his
hu^upa switch.
In conclusion, one very important function of the Gapakoba role
involves guarding processions and ceremonial procedures and correcting
behavior when it does not accord with the norm for the ritual. A second
function involves working on the ceremonial, or taking part in a posi
tive, and not a ritual, burlesquing sense. Of course, ritual burlesque
is working on and for the ceremonial but in a different sense. For example,
all ritual in which the special Parisero group appears includes apakobam
working with the officers. (Recall that this group includes several,
generally three, Gapakobam who follow the Pilatom, Kapitanes, Flauterom,
and Tampalero.) Also on most, if not all, appearances of the Pariserom

135

O
Ya uttim the Capakobam also take a protective part with their guarding
function, as well as with their obvious visual presence and auditory
drumming and clacking of wooden knives and swords. Just their visual
and auditory presence contributes to the impressiveness of the cere
monial. Also, they have numerous more specific tasks.
Each Friday of Lent in the early afternoon, they can be seen with
their masks down over their faces running toward the church. Then small
groups of fifteen or twenty of them are led across the plaza by a Pilato
on horseback as they arrive in the church area. As they approach the
church, they split into two lines with one running two times clockwise
around the church and the other counterclockwise. When this pattern is
completed, they run the Way of the Cross, konti bo 9 o, to the last sta
tion, Kalbario, and surround the three crosses of Kalbario in the same
manner in which they just did the church. This full pattern of running
is repeated three times and is called konti. It is explained as part of
the confession of the Pariserom which they do in behalf of the whole
community. In running the Kalbario, konti bo^o, they are confessing
for the community.
The Capakobam have a complex and very important role to play
in relation to the old man,

''ola. Recall that they keep him awake

all Wednesday night before the running on Thursday, and also that they
accompany him in the

? ?
O ola limosna, contribution, procession. Just

136

after the

''ola procession left our home, a bit of unexplained 6apakoba

behavior took place. A fcapakoba with a white hair mask came limping by
with a cane, portraying the

O ? ola. He carried a small box with red

flowers and a small figure of Christ in it. It might be considered 6apakoba

burlesque of the crucifixion and the coffin of Christ; however, a mestizo
woman who lived near us and seemed quite Indian placed a rolled paper
cone on the figure of Christ and then crossed herself with the cone in
her right hand. She refused to give the Sapakoba money and waved him
away. It seems likely that this fiapakoba ritual has a more significant
meaning than we discovered.
In great part, the power of the Tinieblas ceremony directly in
volves the apakobam. In pauses of the service before the extinguishing
of the candles, they drum and march around the Ya?uim standing in the
center of the church. After the extinction of the candles there are three
loud ttapakoba drummings and they yell and shriek, terrifying the partici
pants within the church. After this, they go to the cemetery to pray. At
this time, a Gapakoba was called the dead, mukila, by our informants.
After the prayers, they feed and keep the ?lO ? ola awake all night.
Thursday afternoon we observed a bapakoba collecting green
^abaso branches by the river, used to construct the ''abaso bower of
the ^O^ola. Our informants said that later on in the afternoon the 6apakobam would run the ^O^ola around the konti bo^o; they "will pull him down
and make him fall like Christ. " Even though ideally the

^ola, old man,;

137

is made to fall, knocked down, in neither of the years in which we saw

the ceremonial was he in actuality knocked down. However, when the
procession had returned to the church, people said the

O ? ola has been

knocked down, killed. This procession involves eight stops symbolized

by a wooden cross covered by an arch of three hu^upa branches where
the

?ola kneels and is given a drink from a gourd by one of his madrinas.

In the movement between these stations, the 6apakoba role is of chief

importance and follows the same pattern between each arched cross. As
the ^O^ola gets up from kneeling and begins to make his way to the next
cross, one of his assistants, a young man with a white turban, an
apostol, throws red tasseled rope to the waiting apakobam. This
wikosa, belt, goes around the waist of the ^O^ola. Several of the
fcapakobam grab the rope and begin to pull and jerk on it to pull the old
man down. The madrinas grab the rope behind the ?O ?
' ola and pull
against the tapakobam, literally pulling them on to the next cross and
thus protecting the

''ola from the jerks of the ttapakobam.

Other

6apakobam run at the ''o''ola and physically try to knock him down;
however, other madrinas protect the old man from these attacks. They
have long switches which they use to strike the ^Japakobam. They mean
business and often, to the amusement of the crowd, a madrina breaks
her switch on the back of a bapakoba. If matters get too rough, such
as the knocking down of a madrina, a Kabo pulls off some of the bapakobam

138

and shoves them into the two lines of remaining Gapakobam who are
guarding the procession from the crowd. When the

? 9
O *ola arrives at

the next station and kneels, the Gapakobam let go of the rope and the
young man, apostol, gathers up the rope in anticipation of the next
throw. The crowd, pushing along outside of the lines of guarding Gapakobam, thoroughly enjoys the performance, laughing and joking about a
particular vicious switching of a Gapakoba by a madrina. Then the
procession returns to the church and the ?O ?ola is taken to the Parisero
house across the plaza. He is now dead. After a second procession,
the Sapakobam remain up that night to pray.
Very early Friday morning and during the day Friday, the Gapakobam run with the Pilatom to pull down the tebatpo kurusim. Also at this
time, they paint short lines on their forearms and lower legs. The colors
are red or four different colors. On this point, there was not informant
agreement. The colors, especially the red, represent the blood of Chirst.
"They do this only during the time in the ceremonial when they are knock
ing down the crosses because Christ has been crucified at this time."
It is later that afternoon when the Pilato drives his lance into
the bower of Christ that Christ is officially killed. The dismantling and
removal of the bower and earth associated with it is the work of the
Capakobam. Each Gapakoba took a branch and surrounded the bower in
a counter-clockwise direction. Toward the end, the CJapakobam began

139

to tire and some tried to go directly out of the church, but one of the
officials made them encircle, (konti) go around the bower. Outside the
church, they carried them over to the south side of the church and
placed them in a pile. The last three fiapakobam brought out three
water cans full of earth which they also set down beside the pile of
branches. That night after the processions, they remain up, making
sure that the participants at the church do not sleep.
Saturday morning about 11 a.m. the baptism of the Pariserom
takes place. The ftapakoba role in this ceremony is of a chiefly passive
nature as they are acted upon by their godparents and by the Maestro.
The apakobam are represented by three of their number in the Gloria.
At an intermediate point in the ceremony a group of deer dancer, two or
A
three Paskolas, three Alawasim, and three Gapakobam with white masks
burst from behind the curtain in the front of the church altar and ran to
the church cross, Kurus Yo 9 owe. As they burst out of the church, every
one shouted "loria" (glory) and threw red and yellow flower petals, the
church bells rang, and firecrackers banged. When they arrived at the
Kurus Yo''owe, church cross, they whipped the earth with long hu^upa
(mesquite) switches. This full pattern was repeated three times. On the
third run after the whipping, the Gapakobam returned to the church while
o
the Maso and Paskola dancers and the Alawasim went out beyond the
bells where the dancers and their musicians set up and began to dance
and play.

140

After the baptism ritual, the 6apakobam brought their masks,

swords, knives, and other wooden paraphernalia to the large fire which
had been started by the Kabos beside the church. There seemed to be
no special pattern of throwing the mask on the fire. They were thrown
with either hand. Some flipped them up in the air several times and then
threw them on, and one young man turned his back and threw his on with
out looking back. Many threw them with some force, more than necessary,
indicating perhaps a joy in being rid of them. One padrino, godfather,
was observed to throw his godson's, bato

usi. mask onto the fire.

This was an exception to all other behavior observed. Also, a forked

stick was thrown on, perhaps one of the sticks used to hold up the rope,
wikosa, of the ? O ? ola in the procession in which the old man is "knocked
down."
On Sunday morning between dawn and 7a.m. the ttapakobam aid
the Paskome in constructing the sacred path, sewateri, from the church
p
to the paskola ramada. It must be swept and the abaso twigs must
be placed along the edge of the path. The Gapakobam are responsible
o
for the placement of the abaso sewa. When we arrived around 7 a.m.
the Paskome were sweeping around the church, and it seems very likely
that the major portion of the sweeping of the path is their task.
Later in the morning around 11 a.m., Christ approaches from the
Paskola ramada and meets Mary in the center of this sacred way. After

141

the third run of a young man carrying the image of San Juan and thus an
nouncing the resurrection of Christ, several things take place more or
less at once. This is the time when the groups are coming together and
the egg shells are being cracked over the heads of the Pilatom and Kapitanes. As this is taking place, about half of the Gapakobam divide into
two groups and run around the church three times, each group in a dif
ferent direction, clockwise and counter-clockwise. They are wearing
hats and carrying switches. When the two running groups meet in front
of the church and also behind the church, they strike at each other with
their switches which causes laughter and joking in the crowd. After the
third run, they line up in front of the church, switching the ground with
their switches while the united processions of Christ, ? Itom ?'Afiai, and
o
o
of Mary, 'Itom Aye, enter the church. At this time, some threw their
switches on the roof of the church. Soon a procession emerged from the
church and we all encircled the church in a counter-clockwise direction.
The procession moved without stopping and returned directly to the
church. As we approached the church door, the Capakobam ran into the
church, throwing what switches remained upon the church roof. One
Gapakoba missed the roof and ran and got his switch and bent it into a
cross shape. He seemed very upset and did not go into the church. Also,
the crowd around him seemed upset. As the Capakobam emerged from the
side door of the church, they were fed coffee and bread by the women,

142

Bahi Mariam. This ritual essentially concludes the Mayo Easter cere
monial. In terms of the above data, we can safely conclude that the
bapakobam have a very important positive role to play in the Easter
ceremonial. They are the protectors of the customs and the guards of
the processions. At this point, we turn to their burlesquing role.
In order to classify the great quantity of observations on Gapakoba ritual burlesque, several subdivisions prove useful. Ritual imper
sonation perhaps might be a better term than burlesque. The bapakobam
behavior is not clown behavior, although it does provide some comic re
lief during a symbolically very tragic ceremonial. The former sections
have indicated that the (fjapakoba role is necessary to the Mayo Easter
ceremonial and involves customs instruction and guarding as well as bur
lesque. Gapakoba ritual impersonation or burlesque is of a very serious
and sacred nature; perhaps burlesque in general is in some ways sacred.
This idea we shall consider in the following section concerned with the
functions of the Easter ceremonial. Within this context, the ideas of
Goffman (1959), that it makes sense to talk about human interaction as
performances and analyze them with a terminology designed for use in
describing stage behavior, have some meaning. As we shall see, this
impersonation aspect of Capakoba behavior is definitely a performance
given for the benefit of an audience. In Goffman's terms, the Banari
Easter ceremonial involves a play (Gapakoba performance) within a play

143

(the Banari Easter ceremonial), within a play (the Mayo way of life),
within a play (the Mexican way of life). To turn to our original idea,
the following subdivisions of ftapakoba ritual impersonation prove to be
important axes of behavior: death and dead things, things done back
ward, important sacred aspects of the life cycle, sexual matters and
relations, and oral and anal behavior.
The identification of the Gapakobam with the dead in some form
is undeniable, especially at the time of Tinieblas, though this is so
deeply sacred that it is difficult to get Mayos to talk about it. On
their way to the church or around the church if Capakobam find a dead
animal, it becomes the focus of their interest and burlesque. For example,
the incident of the dying horse which wandered up to the church and then
moved off to one side of the church and fell over dead, involves behavior
of this type. All the Gapakobam in the area with their masks on as well
as young boys went over to investigate. The Capakobam without their
masks on, and thus at that time not playing the role of Gapakoba, paid
little if any attention to the situation. The others around the horse poked
the animal with their swords, examing its condition with a great deal of
pantomime of its staggering, falling, and death. In fact, the fcapakobam
became so fascinated and excited over the situation that a Kabo had to
go over and chase them away. On another Friday, a Sapakoba found a
dead snake and played some time with it. He carried it on his wooden

144

sword and would throw it into the air and shake his body, rattling his
cocoon rattles, and clack his knife and sword together. When he tired
of the act, a second bapakoba took up the snake and played with it in
much the same way. So the snake passed around to several Gapakobam
and provided them with a great deal of amusement. In addition, they
used the snake to attempt to frighten people who had come to take
part in the procession, and ran around dangling it in front of people.
During the procession, the snake still provided them with a great deal
of amusement, especially when a ^apakoba came up behind a man in
the procession and attempted to drop the snake into his shopping bag.
The man turned in time to see what was going on and jumped out of the
way. This caused a great deal of hilarity and pointing of knives on the
part of some of the other Gapakobam. The fiapakoba then capitalized
on this theme and all during the procession sought out persons with
shopping bags to intimidate. On another Friday, a Gapakoba found a
dead bird and again this became the center of ftapakoba play and amuse
ment. Anything dead which they can find has great interest and attrac
tion for them. Also, death and injury has an attraction for them. Often,
we observed several Gapakobam enacting a duel in which one is finally
killed, falls to the ground and remains there several minutes. Besides
their wooden swords and knives, they often appear with toy guns which
they use to shoot bystanders. Also, anything which is wounded or injured

145

interests them and they may pantomime its actions, for example, the
ttapakoba pantomime of the staggering horse or of the young man's limp
when the horse fell on his leg. They also are concerned with a panto
mime of curing the injury; however, this behavior will be discussed be
low. In summary, one of the axes of Gapakoba behavior is oriented
around the dead, dying, killing and injury as exemplified by the above
data.
The second axis of 6apakoba behavior involves doing things back
wards and ridicule through teasing. Doing things backwards often is a
characteristic of the dead; although we were not able to collect this
myth from Banari Mayos it certainly seems likely that such a myth exists
especially in light of the above examples and of the fact that a ^Japakoba
was called the dead or a spirit. A great deal of ttapakoba behavior in
volves acts done in a backwards manner. For example, often a Capakoba
will offer his left hand in an attempt to shake hands with a member of
the crowd. We were not exempt from this and often Sapakobam attempted
to shake hands backwards with us. Also, they cross themselves with their
left hands. For example, before shooting me with his toy gun, a tJapakoba
crossed himself with his left hand. And lastly and probably most important
ly, is that the feapakobam do konti Kalbario (surrounding the last station of
the Way of the Cross) to the left, whereas the people do konti to the right.
They are going around then in the direction opposite to the prescribed one.

146

The left for Mayos has power which often occurs with witchcraft; smok
ing with the left hand, crossing oneself with the left hand, or going to
the left are all contrary to custom, backwards and dangerous. Thus,
this aspect of Capakoba behavior has deep symbolic value to Mayos
above and beyond the fact that they do it backwards. It seems there
fore a likely inference that this aspect of behavior has strong links to
the first axis, that of death and the dead.
Also, besides doing things backwards, they are constantly
trying to bribe or tease converts into their ranks. When not occupied
in other activities, the fiapakobam would tease anyone or anything
dead or alive that happened to come within their range. They are dis
respectful to the saints and the crosses and to the dead, as well as to
the living. Being disrespectful and teasing is a type of doing things
backwards or opposite to the recognized pattern because typical Mayo
behavior is rather formal and very polite. The teasirig does not stop
with humans, as the fiapakobam also tease animals, especially dogs.
Within this context, the Gapakoba behavior is rather more typical Mayo
than backwards, because most Mayos treat dogs as nothing more than
scavengers, kicking or striking them if the animal should get in the way.
However, no Mayo was observed teasing an animal as the Capakobam
do. For example, on a Rriday afternoon, as the procession was leaving
the church and proceeding to the first station, a small dog got in

147

between the two lines of Gapakobam which flank the procession as it

leaves the church. This excited the 6apakobam tremendously and they
clacked their swords and knives and shook their bodies, rattling the
cocoon rattles, which terrified the dog, who kept running from line to
line seeking escape. Finally after being chased by several Capakobam
the dog ran into the procession for refuge. This observation also is
important in terms of the guarding and protection function which the
Gapakobam have. As well as teasing and frightening the dog, they
were chasing him away in a manner which he would be likely to remem
ber. In general, the dogs showed terror at the sight of the Gapakobam
and would run to a safe distance. In another incident, a Capakoba held
out a piece of bread to a dog. With his other hand, he held his sword
in readiness to strike the dog when he came within range. The dog
was very hungry and obviously wanted the bread badly; however, he
was too smart for the bapakoba. The dog would crawl up towards the
tJapakoba and the offering of bread, and then when the Capakoba tightened
his hand on his sword and began to move, the dog would run. This per
formance went on for some time with the dog neither getting the bread
nor getting hit with the sword, although the fcapakoba struck at him
several times. The fcapakobam never tired of teasing the little angels,
angelitas, and their madrinas. During one of these performances, one
of our friends remarked, the feapakobam tease the Bahi Mariam, the

148

three Marias (meaning the little children and their godmothers). These
performances were especially intense during the period that the Bahi
Mariam were assembling inside the church before the Friday processions
and took place each of thesix Fridays preceding Lent. This involves
that time period between the time the teapakobam arrive at the church
and the time of the main Friday procession, a period of several hours
from around 2 to around 4p.m. The theme of offering food, as with
the dogs, is a key one here. Bread and, on one occasion, a tomato
was offered. After several Gapakobam attempted in vain to get the
children to eat a tomato, one pretended to eat it himself. Suddenly,
he became terribly ill and rolled on the floor of the church. He required
"curing" by another of the Capakobam. At another time, a Sapakoba
offered a peso bill to the little angels. One of the angelitas began
to waver. At just the crucial moment, her godmother stepped up be
hind her and adjusted her flower crown, which is one of the symbols of
status of the little angels, pulling it more firmly down over her brow.
This action distracted her from the tempting bill and turned her away
from the ^Japakoba's attentions. The children are not the only ones
who are bribed and teased, however. During this same time period,
on one Friday afternoon, an old man, very likely the ^O^ola of Holy
Week, with a cloth on his head, entered the church, knelt and crossed
himself. A Gapakoba then knelt between the man and the altar and did

149

likewise, making fun of the old man. Although the Mayo women took
most of the Gapakoba performance as a matter of course, some seemed
disturbed at this particular act. We were often the brunt of ttapakoba
teasing. Since we often wrote down Mayo words, they would come up
to me and write in the dirt or would point towards us with their knives
and pantomime the writing of something on paper. On another occasion,
I saw one pointing towards us and then towards our truck, and then
holding his two hands pantomiming the driving of a vehicle. They made
it clear that they thought we were as curious and funny as we thought
they were. On another occasion, in a narrow area where the crowd had
to walk beside the line of &apakobam, one kept trying to catch my arm
a n d pull me i n t o t h e l i n e . The most common theme a s s o c i a t e d with u s ,
however, was the writing in the dirt for us to translate. They would
look and point to the writing, indicating we should read it aloud. If
we read it correctly, they would clap their sticks together and nod and
shake their cocoon rattles. If we refused or could not make out the
writing, they would write it again or keep pointing, refusing to let us
get away until we figured it out. We were far from the only ones whom
the Capakobam teased. For example, in the evening, just before
Tinieblas but before many people had arrived at the church, a church
official, a Kabo, a Gapakoba and I helped in putting up a tall ladder
to replace a burned out light bulb. During this activity, several

150

6apakobam were playing raucously in the area. The church official be

came very angry and ordered them to leave. One came over to him,
teased him and finally made him smile. They went right on playing.
A great deal of tapakoba teasing involves the making fun of societal,
rather than individual, behavior patterns. Instead of pantomiming or
attempting to tempt individuals, they focus upon the Mayo way of life
on the sacred things, on the important rituals of the life cycle.
Shifting from the teasing of individuals to burlesquing, the Mayo
way of life directs our attention to the third axis of feapakoba behavior,
the concern with the sacred things and important rituals of Mayo culture.
The performances we have discussed above also function to poke fun at
the procession and ceremony itself since they provide a diversion from
worship. No processions were entirely free from Gapakobam ridicule;
even the processions to house ceremonies in which Christ is "rested"
are made fun of by the Sapakobam. Their most active and creative
periods of acting, however, take place during each of the six Friday
afternoons preceding Holy Week. The following are the most intense
periods of creative Capakoba play: (1) the free period after they have
run the Way of the Cross and before the procession; (2) just before the
procession emerges from the church when all the apakobam are lined
up in two long lines in front of the church; and (3) during the procession
itself and especially as the procession arrives at Kalbario, Calvary,

151

the last station number fourteen. For example, before the procession, a
Gapakoba may be observed pantomiming the reading of a comic book. He
sits on a bench and carefully turns each page, striking wonderful poses
of a person, contemplative, exasperated, confused, etc. On one Friday
after the Sapakobam line up, but before the procession comes out of the
church, someone throws a ball onto the sacred way between the two lines
and we have a marvelous game of pelota. or kick the ball, taking place
on the sacred church patio. As the procession leaves the church,
flowers are thrown, the Sacristan climbs the bell platform and rings the
bells. This causes the ^apakobam to cover their ears with their hands,
because the pealing of the bells is the voice of the archangel which
hurts their ears. After the service at the first station of the cross,
flowers are thrown and the two long lines of Gapakobam run out beyond
the procession, surrounding it (konti) and back to the church. Inside
the church, they tilt back their masks and take the flowers placed on the
altar, so when they emerge they are grasping flowers in their hands.
One of our friends said the Gapakobam go into the church and take the
flowers that are stored there for Christ. From this point on, some
bapakobam proceed beside the procession, while others simply wander
around, playing with whatever they find of interest. Their playing in
creases to a climax at the thirteenth station. After the thirteenth,
everyone runs to and around Kalbario, the fcapakobam do konti to the

152

left and the people to the right. At this time, there is a great deal of
Gapakoba burlesquing, kissing, hugging each other, etc. When every
one has gone around Kalbario and the long service begins, the Pilatom
move off to one side, away from the procession and the Gapakobam tilt
back their masks and all smoke and relax. During the procession, one
of the favorite Sapakobam diversions is the pantomime of the Paskola
and Maso dancers. Some bring violins which they use to "talk" to
participants in the procession. One Capakoba could actually mimic the
speech sounds so well that it sounded like the violin was talking. Also,
he played Paskola and Matafcini music while other Gapakobam did very
nice imitations of dancing. The violin players were so good that we
often recognized the specific Paskola tune. This playing and dancing
went on from the time that the Gapakobam lined up in front of the church
until the procession was over. It rather overpowered the singing and
chanting of the church group. Others pretended to be deer dancers and
singers. The dancer either held his hands as if he was rattling gourd
rattles or used real rattles which he had brought along as props, and
posed and danced with the same style as does the deer dancer. A
second ftapakoba knelt and played on his drum, and a third took his
sword and knife, which was notched like the rasp of the deer singers
and used them as a rasp. The whole performance produced an unmistakable
and very clever burlesque of the deer dance, a very sacred part of Mayo

ceremonialism. Thus, during the procession, there is a great deal of

freedom in the behavior of the Gapakobam. Some are lined up beside
the procession, others are making music and dancing, others are wan
dering here and there, and finally others are attempting to "knock" down
the crosses just preceding the procession which are guarded by ^Alawasim
with hu^upa, mesquite, switches. The bapakobam behavior is especially
undirected and free in comparison to the Yaqui Easter ceremonials which
I have observed in Pascua (see also R. Spicer 1939).
Perhaps the most interesting of this teasing of the Mayo way of
life takes place within the church before the Eriday processions form.
This performance takes place in front of the altar and the saints as well,
before the little angels, the little children, their godmothers, madrinas,
and some of the young unmarried women, all of whom are gathering in
the church for the procession. This set of behavior is truly a performance
in the sense that it is repeated in much the same form on many of the
Friday afternoons and appears to be enjoyed very much by the performers.
The ftapakobam seem to know that they are putting on a drama for the
women and children, and derive a great deal of satisfaction out of doing
so. Beyond a doubt, this pantomime is a wonderful example of the "per
formance" which Goffman (1959) uses as the basic concept in his analysis
of social organization. This is precisely the type of behavior, the
dramatization dimension or dramaturgical framework, which Young (1965)

154

uses as a basis of his recent explanation of initiation ceremonies; "the

main theme of the book is an attempt to test the hypothesis that the de
gree of solidarity of a given social system determines the degree to which
status transitions within it will be dramatized. " In following sections of
this monograph we will test this hypothesis in terms of the Banari Easter
ceremonial; however, at this point, it is useful to point out how the
data we are now discussing will prove useful.
Beyond a doubt, the Capakobam perform in a backwards manner,
many of the important rites of the Mayo culture and life cycle. They
poke fun at the children and attempt through bribery to recruit them
into the army of Pilate. They burlesque the traditional art forms of
the Paskola and deer dance. In the sense that the Easter ceremonial
is a funeral ritual for the death of Christ, they burlesque the funeral
ritual as well. The two performances we will turn to now involve the
pantomime of the marriage ritual and the rituals associated with illness
and curing. A recurrent performance taking place within the church be
fore the Rriday processions is "getting married. " One Friday afternoon,
a Gapakoba with a type of mask which has a carved wooden face cloth
attached to the hairy mask, took the end of his long embroidered face
cloth and put it over the top of his head, looping the end between the
teeth of this mask. This was the same bapakoba who earlier had pan
tomimed the deer dancer. He now pulled his cloth in this position like

women wear their rebozos in a wind or if a stranger is present. Then,

he took the arm of another &apakoba, also having a white fur mask,
and the two marched, with great pomp, from the end of the church up
the center to the altar. One of the young unmarried women whispered
to my wife, "They are getting married. " A third 6apakoba with a brown
furry mask kept disturbing and teasing them. After the service, "mar
riage," at the altar the "bride" ran to the brown fcapakoba and there
ensued much horseplay. They pressed their masks together, giving a
very realistic illusion of a kiss. They "kissed" several times and then
pantomimed sexual intercourse. One of them lay with his back on the
floor. The second Gapakoba lay with one of his legs between the two
legs of the one on the floor in a face to face, or mask to mask, posi
tion. After a little suggestive bouncing, the performance was com
plete. After the "marriage" and the "kissing" it was clear to everyone
just what this last activity symbolized. One of the women, who was
speaking only Spanish, remarked in a very shocked tone, "Look what
they are doing, and in front of the children. " However, during the per
formance, the Mayo women's faces showed no particular interest, con
cern, or shock. The younger unmarried women were taking it all in but
in an oblique noncommital way. One of the Mayo women turned to the
shocked woman, explaining that it was alright for the children to see,
as everyone understood that the bapakobam have no shame. By this

156

time, the performance had shifted to the teasing of the little children,
in this specific case with a tomato. Another aspect of the Mayo way
of life was about to be pantomimed, that of illness and curing. When
the bapakobam could not get the children to eat the tomato, a Gapakoba
pretended to eat it and immediately fell on the floor, writhing with pain.
The women knew just what illness was ailing him according to his
specific behavior, grasping his stomach, his chest, and his legs. In
each performance of this theme, the ill behavior would be slightly dif
ferent and the women would immediately recognize the illness and name
it. There is no doubt that a Mayo typology of illnesses and behavior
associated with each exists and that the Gapakobam accurately por
tray each, although we did not collect them. After doubling up with
"pain" and falling to the ground, the Gapakoba would shake one leg
terribly, rattling the cocoon rattles on his legs and attracting the others.
They all would gather about him, massaging his body and poking him in
the stomach. The Capakoba with a black fur mask and a long wand
with a rubber doll's foot on it would bounce the staff and the foot along
t h e ground until i t h i t t h e " p a t i e n t . " Then t h e "patient" would r i s e u p ,
shaking vigorously with a Gapakoba on each side helping him. At this
point; the women in the church were talking of healing and the healer,
hitolfo. In summary, the Gapakobam ritually impersonate many of the

157

important rituals of Mayo society: marriage, Paskola and deer dancing,

illness and curing, and the funeral ritual.
The next axis of Gapakoba behavior involves what I have called
oral and anal behavior. On numerous occasions, Gapakobam were ob
served pretending to feed themselves most often bread; however, on
some occasions faces as well. One Gapakobam played with a small
metal bucket in which another placed dirt. Another had a small rubber
doll's foot at the end of a sword. He would tickle the bottom of it and
stick it in the other Gapakobam's faces and poke it around their anuses.
This "goosing" or tickling of other Gapakobam's anuses is a very
characteristic preoccupation of Gapakoba behavior. The Gapakoba
with the doll's foot also had a glass baby bottle with a rubber nipple
on it. He would "suck" it, stick it up to the anus of the Gapakoba
next to him and then would suck it again. Other Gapakobam used cans
or bottles which they put up to the anuses of their neighbors and then
"drank" the "contents" of the can or bottle. This "eating" of feces is
a very common Gapakoba performance. Another common performance is
the "defecating" upon the crosses of the Way of the Cross. This can
be seen especially during the time just after the Gapakobam arrive and
they are running the Way of the Cross, doing konti, are confessing for
the pueblo. The first Gapakoba in a line of runners will squat with his
anus to the cross. When he is finished, the second performs, until all

158

the line has "defecated" upon the cross. It is obvious beyond a doubt
what they are symbolizing. Thus, one axis of tapakoba behavior in
volves a fascination with oral behavior, eating bread, feces, etc., and
with a n a l behavior, with goosing or jabbing other 6apakobam i n t h e a n u s ,
and with "defecating" upon a sacred object.
The last axis of ibapakoba behavior which is a focal point of
their fascination is sex. We have mentioned in the preceding section
the pantomiming of the sexual intercourse within the church. This is
only a part of a range of behavior. The pantomime of hugging, kissing,
and dancing between two ^apakobam is an often repeated performance.
On the night of Tinieblas when the Capakobam angered the church official,
the offenders were hugging, kissing, and dancing. One Friday afternoon,
as the procession reached the fourteenth station, Kalbario, a "girl"
Gapakoba with red lips and rouge, came up to me and wanted to kiss
me. Another Sapakoba then "kissed" her. One Capakoba had a nude
pinup girl wearing high h e e l s painted on t h e head of h i s drum. On a n
other occasion when a Mayo friend was telling me some Mayo words, a
mestizo listening suggested that he give me the Mayo word for sexual
intercourse. The Mayo said flatly, no; however, a bapakoba over
hearing the conversation took up the theme and played very suggestively
with his wooden knife. This playing with a stick or knife as if it were
a penis is an often observed performance. Everyone standing around

159

the group was all malelaughed and the Gapakoba wrote something in
the dirt which he then erased. Within the context, a likely inference
was that it was the word which had been requested by the mestizo.
Often outside of the church, the ttapakobam pantomime a sexual inter
course which may be animal, rather than human. Li this case, one will
climb on the back of the other, with much bouncing and rattling of cocoon
rattles. A&apakoba was observed climbing a ladder and pantomiming
sexual intercourse with the ladder. Wednesday night before Tinieblas
proved to us that the above was not just our own interpretation of Sapakoba behavior. A^apakoba got out a carefully carved wooden male
phallus with the glans carefully executed. The phallus was around six
inches in length. He showed it to several men standing in the area,
holding it in his hands during this time. During the Tinieblas service,
another Gapakoba was observed with a wooden phallus which he was
holding between his legs and showing to some men. In summary, the
bapakobam have a fascination (1) with the dead, death, and funeral
ritual, (2) with marriage, illness, and curing, with feces, and (3) with
sex and sexual matters.
In order not to generate a misconception, let us turn immediately
to 6apakoba and Parisero normative or ideal behavior and Mayo feelings
concerning the behavior of the Sapakobam. Privately I had no problem
eliciting the Mayo terms for human sexual anatomy from one of our close
friends. He cautioned me about the use of these words, saying that they

160

were bad words and that I should not tell them to my wife or any woman.
These are matters that only men talk about among themselves and the
women do not know these words, he said. Actually, it seems very
likely that the women do know the words, and obviously they have re
ceived a rather complete education in sexual matters simply by observing
the bapakobam at play. In ordinary social interaction, the Mayos are
moralistic to the point of being prudish. My friend also pointed out to
me that I should never publish this type of word in a dictionary. He
said this type of material would reflect badly upon Mayos, that readers
would receive the wrong impression of Mayos. In his copy of Vocabulario Mayo (Collard 1962) he showed me where several of these types
of words had been published and repeated the point that this gave
people the wrong impression of Mayos. I cite this incident mainly to
impress upon the reader that the Gapakoba behavior is quite atypical
of accepted Mayo behavior to say the least! When I pointed out to him
that I had seen the Sapakoba wooden phalli, he explained this within
the same terms as my wife had heard amongst the women in the church.
"When they have their masks on they are without shame. " A second
example will secure this point that the fcapak.

\ ritual impersonation

is strongly counter to accepted Mayo morality. It represents what Opler

would call a "counter theme" (Opler 1945:198-206); however, it is mani
fest in behavior as well as in the structure of the culture. I was taking

161

the Mayo man spoken of above and a very conservative Mayo to their
homes. The subject of the tapakobam came up and I mentioned that their
portrayal of sexual intercourse left little to the imagination. The first
Mayo agreed and laughed freely, saying, "they have no shame. " The
conservative Mayo was shocked and embarrassed. He laughed tensely
and said, "does he know that?" The first Mayo answered yes, and we
went on to another subject. Beyond a doubt, the evidence is strong that
conservative Mayo culture is very moralistic and that sexual subjects
cause a great deal of embarrassment. Within this context, the Capakobam express and instruct the youth in an area of life which is too embar
rassing and repressed for the average Mayo to discuss except perhaps
between very intimate age mates. When discussing the baptism of the
Pariserom and especially of the Capakobam, the same complex of ideas
occur. They must be baptized because they have gone beyond traditional
expectations of behavior; "they are baptized because they do bad, evil
things." Although I wish to point out that much of Gapakoba behavior is
beyond the bounds of normative Mayo behavior, the gloss, evil, is quite
misleading. It is more accurate to concentrate on the idea that the Capakoba are without shame. In this sense, they are not human and the bap
tism makes them men again. As one of the Kabos said after the baptism,
and after the ceremonial, "I am no longer a Parisero, I am a man again."
It is not that they are intrinsically evil, but that they are not human and

are not responsible for their acts. This is why it is acceptable for the
little children to watch them; they are not responsible, not human, and
without shame; they are Capakobam and must be baptized to be made into
men. Thus, it could not possibly harm the children to see their perform
ances. They are not men, thus it is not human behavior. In conclusion,
Gapakoba behavior is definitely an antithesis of human social norms and
cannot be judged in terms of human criteria. Human norms dictate strict
moralistic behavior and cases of deviance are treated in a strict and
authoritarian manner.
The Underlying Rules
At this point, we shall turn to an analysis of the Mayo norms or
the rules underlying the behavior which is predictable to Mayos. The
main and overarching rule is the manda, or promise. If one as a young
adult or as a child is seriously ill or in a very dangerous situation, he
or his parents may make a manda to serve God the Father, God the Son,
or a Saint if the illness is cured. If the person is cured or saved the
manda must be paid. If one is promised to Jesus, ? Itom ? Afiai ?*Usi,
and more specifically Christ Crucified, then he must serve as a Parisero
in order to pay the promise. More generally this is the way one becomes
a member of many of the Mayo sodalities, by a manda. This, then, is
the basic rule: for continued life and health one promises his services
to a supernatural. The questions, Do you have a manda?, What for?,

163

For how long? as well as discussions over the answers are constant
topics for Mayo deep concern. Our Mayo friends were always stressing
that this and that were mandas and that something else was not. From this
basic concept, the manda, logically follows most, if not all, the other
rules or cultural norms of the Parisero and most of the other sodalities.
Coupled with this concept of the manda are another set of assumptions,
the Krensia. the beliefs. The manda obligates one to carry out the
Krensia. With the assumptions of the manda and the Krensia, we can
deduce the specific rules or cultural norms and examine their expression
and exceptions (their being broken) in the observed and reported ceremonial.
A Parisero manda may be made for a period of five days to life
time service. However, a Capakoba in Banari usually promises to serve
for three years. The Parisero officers serve longer periods, and it is
said that the Pilato manda is for life or until the Pilato dies. Amanda is
so compelling, such a strong obligation, that it is extremely difficult for
an individual Mayo to reject it completely. It may be neglected or put
off, but ultimately it must be paid. The service of a manda is truly
Mayo ultimate concern. The following example will make this point, as
well as a following point. One of our friends, while fighting in the Mexi
can Army, was confronted with an extremely terrifying battle experience
in which he believed he would surely be killed. At this time, even
though he had been absent from Mayo country for many years and was a

164

man of likely over 20, he made a manda to serve as a 6apakoba for three
years if his life was spared. He gave us the following as a typical manda.
^in ^Attai, Tesu Kristo. ?alibiot te^ino bittua# (Jesus Christ
send help to me.)
turiatatek ne bai wasuktiapo entti na tekipanoanake pariseropo#
(If you help me, I will work three years as a Judfo Cfiapakoba?.)
Happily his life was spared, and after his military service he returned to
Mayo country around 1936 (a man of some 35 years of age). Upon return
ing to his original home, he sought out one of his elderly relatives and ex
plained to her he had made a manda to serve in the Parisero organization.
She took him to the church, which had been burned to the ground by the
Sonoran Government in accordance with one of the post-revolution antichurch edicts. There was only one cross still standing among the ruins.
She explained that the church had been in ruins for ten years because the
government had forbidden religious worship, and therefore the Mayos were
afraid to rebuild it. Our friend explained to us that he had to pay his
manda even if it meant rebuilding the church and the ceremonial sodality,
which obviously at this point it did. He asked his relative to call together
the old people of the area and he explained to them that he had been in the
army and knew the position of the government. It was not anti-native
church, but anti-clergy. With his reassurance, they rebuilt the church
and reinstituted the Easter ceremonial. Thus, he was able to complete
his promise of three years and served an additional three as a gift. This

165

case is illustrative of serveral more general points which should be

made. First, it exemplifies the power a manda has, once the individual
is obligated. Secondly, it indicates that mandas may be made in other
cases besides serious illness. Thus, with better medical aid, it is not
certain nor perhaps even likely that manda making will cease and that
the Parisero sodality will disappear. Even in our society, childhood is
characterized by numerous illnesses which cause parents a great deal
of anxiety which could be relieved by making a manda for the sick child.
Thus, I see no reason to believe that improved medical aid will necessari
ly greatly reduce the number of mandas made to serve as a Parisero.
Thirdly, this case is atypical and therefore more instructive, in the
sense that the Mayo in question returned and served as a Capakoba as
an adult. In 1961 and 1965 all the Gapakobam observed in Banari were
young men between the ages of 16 to 18 or 19. Since the manda was
made by the older Mayo in a very striking circumstance and provided his
reentry into Mayo society, he naturally sees it as a somewhat more im
portant symbol of service than do the younger Capakobam, whose mandas
often were made by their families rather than by themselves. Mayo cul
ture has not "taken" as deeply or as completely upon the older man as
it is upon many of the present fiapakobam.

This fact has important im

plications for the explanation of the Easter ceremonial as an enculturating

and identity producing mechanism. In summary, the manda is a contract

166

with a supernatural, ^Itom ^A&ai ?Usi, for the Pariserom, in which one
offers his service in accord with the Krensia, the beliefs or the code, in
exchange for continued life and health.
The Krensia is the code which stipulates the specific obligations
which one has incurred. The expectation of Mayos is that everyone in
the lower river valley knows the Krensia. For example, after one of the
Friday processions, we asked a Kabo which Friday this was. He replied,
"Don't you know the Krensia!" If you lived in the river valley this was
something you were expected to know. If you do not, you are expected
to return year after year until you do, like the little children, angelitos,
who also have made a manda. When we asked about the disrespect shown
by mestizos for ritual, for example, the boy on horseback who refused
to obey the Parisero command or the individuals who drive cars, busses,
and tractors through or close behind the procession, we were firmly
told that these individuals knew the Krensia but that they did not care
enough to follow it". On the other hand, to us, it appeared obvious that
often disrespect was based on ignorance and not upon lack of concern.
To this suggestion, Mayos replied strongly to the negative and argued
that everyone knew the Krensia or at minimum it was everyone's obligation
to know the code. One's presence at the ceremonial indicates that one
knows enough of the Krensia to be capable of proper behavior. The making
of a manda links one to the Krensia on one hand, and on the other, the

167

expectation that one knows the Krensia if he is present and has made a
manda explaining his presence affects the type of promise which he has
made, as well as his conception of it (see Fig. 6).
The Krensia includes three areas of rules: (1) mukti or honoring
the supernatural, in the case of the Easter ceremonial, ^Itom ^AJSai ?Usi;
(2) the rules of the ceremonial or the ideas about how the ceremonial
should take place; and (3) the rules of the status-role system or how
Pariserom should behave. All these rules interlock in the Krensia (see
Fig. 6). Honoring the supernatural, the mukti, includes praying, work
ing, and confessing. Pariserom do a great deal of praying along with
their other activities. The credo is conceived of as an especially im
portant Parisero prayer.
El Kredo. Anesuale Dios Afcaita 6ikti hita hoarawemta tewekatekamta abwiatekamta suk. Anebesuale usiwata wepulai itom vauSlwa
Dios Hesukrlstota. aesam voremtuk Dios Espiritu Santota eakapo
Santa Maria betana veusika hueme hulen abemetako auk hiokotane
Pilatota hiuwarepo. kruspo sekola sisiwokimeve mamamet. wokimet
popontaka mukuk. mawak suk. Lifiernomewi noktisuk. taewari bahi
weyemtatti aoutti yepbitua kokokame betana. tewekawi ahamuk. Afiai
ikti hita arawemta batatana yetek. abuo hu6i yebinake Sikti
yoremtamet. hlepsamtamet, kokokamtamet huneri noki Supanak tekat.
Anebesuale Dios Espiritu Santota. suk Sikti paala Santosim nauwetieyem ben ala nekutti. anebesuale kaalawanta yore alulutiriawanta suk ttikti yoreme takawa ientok hiepsinamta aman wasuwasuktia hiepsimamta huneri. Amen Hesus.
El Credo. Creo en Dios Padre todopoderoso, criador del cielo y
de la tierra, y en Jesucristo su unico Hijo nuestro Senor, que
fue concebido por obra del Espiritu Santo, y naci6 de Santa
Maria Virgen, padecio bajo el poder de Poncio Pilato, fue crucificado, muerto y sepulatado. Descendifc a los infiernos, y al
tercero dia resucit6 de entre los muertos, subi6 a los cielos y

168

esta sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre todopoderoso, desde allf

has de venir a juzgar a los vivos, y a los muertos. Creo en el
Espfritu Santo, la Santa Iglesia catolica, la comunion de los
Santos, el perd6n de los pecados, la resurrecci&n de la carne,
y la vida perdurable. Amen Jesus.
(The underlined, the Mayo, is the Jesuit translation of the Spanish di
rectly above into Mayo, quoted with some slight modification of phonetic
symbols from Buelna 1891:283. The following, in English, is my trans
lation of the above.)
The Credo. I believe in God the Father all powerful, creator of
heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our
Lord, who was conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit and born
of the Holy Virgin Mary, who suffered under the power of Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried. He descended into hell,
and on the third day arose from the dead. He ascended into the
sky, heaven. There He sits on the right hand of God the Father
all powerful, from whence He comes to judge the living and the
dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of the Saints, the pardon of sins, the resurrec
tion of the body, and life everlasting. Amen Jesus.
When the Gapakobam are out of role, with their masks tilted back,
they cross themselves at the appropriate places, as upon entering the
church. The long nights which they must remain awake praying are very
difficult indeed. This involves the idea of mukti, or honoring Our Father,
as ceremonial labor, or work. It is very difficult to serve as a Parisero,
say both Mayos and mestizos. The prayer and the work of the Pariserom
is described as confession for the pueblo as a whole. Especially be
fore the Friday processions while the ttapakobam were doing konti (run
ning the Way of the Cross) people would say, they are doing confession.

169

Honoring the supernatural or mukti thus involves long hours of praying,

a great deal of ceremonial labor such as running to knock down the house
crosses, and confessing for the community. This latter, of course, links
to the norm that one should donate to or deal with the pueblo as a whole
and not with an individual. The mukti also includes the behavior and
participation of all members of a procession. For example, the women
in the procession of the running of the old man, ^O^ola, spoke of the
activity as mukti even though they were not kneeling at the stations of
the cross. Thus, all members in the Easter processions are working and
9
9
praying together, honoring Our Father ( Itom Afcai) and Our Mother
(^Itom ^Aye).
The rules of the status-role system also stipulate that for the
mukti to be acceptable the worshipper-performers must be pure in mind
and body. The Pariserom must abstain from alcohol and from sexual inter
course during Lent. If they do not do this, their manda, promise, is not
paid and they must serve another year. Our friends were very clear on
this point. Also, just before one of the processions, we overheard one
of the church officials calling for a young man to carry a cloth shade over
one of the images, Santos. He stipulated he wanted an individual who
had not been drinking. "He^eka # senu ka he''eye#" (The cloth cover #
cyoung man! not drinking). Two examples indicate that the drinking rule
is ideal and sometimes broken. On one occasion, we overheard a report

170

to a Pilato that one of the 6apakoba was drunk. On another occasion, I

definitely detected alcohol on the breath of a Capakoba even though he
had his mask on. To the best of my knowledge, no action was taken
against the offenders. Also, the Mayos abstain from eating meat during
the Fridays of Lent and during part of Holy Week. For example, I was
served a cabbage stew without meat on Good Friday at the home of a
Kabo. We were told that during the rest of the year Mayos do not abstain
from meat on Friday, but would eat it whenever it was available. Within
this context, two additional rules should be mentioned. The role of
Parisero also ideally involves policing functions in processions outside
of Lent (L. Crumrine 1966:49). The Pariserom, without their symbols of
office, go along to make sure everything goes smoothly. A second rule
involves the identification of individuals with specific Parisero roles.
For example, inquiring for an individual by name is not nearly as suc
cessful as giving his name and adding, "you know he is a Parisero."
Thus, with the role of Parisero are also associated abstinence from sexual
intercourse and alcohol during Lent, abstinence from meat during the Fri
days of Lent, an identity of individuals with specific statuses, and a
policing function even outside of Lent.
The third division, rules of the ceremonial, cannot possibly be
exhaustive. Thus, it will consist of several norms which Mayos most
often discussed with us and which logically link with the preceding two

171

divisions (see Fig. 6). Prayers are also an important part of the ideal
ritual. The Pariserom figure importantly in this ritual, Wednesday night
in the cemetery, Thursday night when they pray all night and keep the
^O^ola awake, and Friday night when again they pray and keep the parti
cipants at the church awake so they can pray. Through the application of
these rules and in these three contexts, the rules of the ceremonial are
linked with the mukti rules associated with praying and working. Second
ly, the ceremonial is more of a success the more complex and dramatic,
and thus the more difficult, it is. There are numerous additional rules
which add to the complexity, such as Gapakobam do konti to the left and
the people to the right; when one has his mask on he places his rosary in
his mouth (he "eats it"); the placement of the way crosses are specific
distances apart and closer towards Kalbario because Christ tired; and all
during Semana Santa, Holy Week, it is dangerous to shave or use a sharp
instrument such as an axe or machete, until noon on Easter Sunday. In
terms of difficulty, we were told that the konti bo^o (sacred way) around
the church sacred area was bad because it was not hard enough. Others
mentioned that the Friday's Kalbario used to go clear to the river, but
now it is considerably shorter. Also, the dramatic aspect is of key im
portance as well. For example, when all the lights were put out in the
church during Tinieblas, several persons mentioned that some street light
was coming into the church and that this was bad, ka turi (not good).

172

The church should be completely dark during this very dramatic time. Thus,
complexity, difficulty, and drama are important in a successful Easter
ceremonial.
And thirdly, norms exist associated with money and its import in
the ceremonial. Part of the idea that the Easter ceremonial should be
given with pure heart and mind involves the free giving of the partici
pants . It is the Parisero ceremonial and they are expected to produce it
in payment for the manda and not as an attempt to increase their own fi
nancial position. Thus, it is a rule not to give money to 6apakobam,
but just coffee or cigarettes, unless they are not masked and collecting
a limosna, gift, for the ceremony. Also, it is expected that an indivi
dual will not sell his Capakoba mask, but will burn it near the comple
tion of the ceremonial. We were told that one could not, nor should not
buy masks. However, some are available in the Fuerte River Valley, even
though all in Banari are said to be burned. Thus, when one makes a manda,
he does not expect to make money but to pay back a promise. This
promise involves ceremonial labor, hours of prayer, and service to the
community and is the antithesis of a profit-making venture. In conclu
sion, the above represent the major norms associated with the Easter cere
monial. One makes a manda, promise, to serve Our Father, ''itom ?Ai6ai
?Usi, because he has saved or cured the individual. The promise links
one to a set of beliefs, Krensia, which everyone in the Lower River Valley

173

1s expected to know. The Krensia involves service, or the mukti, rules

of status-role, and rules of the ceremonial, all of which are interrelated
as indicated in Figure 6.
Other Easter Sodalities
In concluding this section of norms of the Bcinari Easter ceremonial
and of specially the Parisero sodality, we will consider the norms relating
the Pariserom to the other single roles and sodalities participating within
the Easter ceremonial, such as the ? O ? ola, the home owners, the three
Marias (Bahi Mariam) and the little children (angelitos), the men (Bahi
Reyesim), the Paskome, the Maestro and his assistants, the godparents
(padrinos and madrinas), and the Dead. We shall find that these relations
are characterized by behavior, ranging from mutual respect and aid to
temptation and bribery, to shipping, and finally force and destruction by
fire.
A great deal has already been said about the relation between the
? ?
O ola and the Pariserom; thus very little needs to be added here. The

relationship is one of force and final destruction, as the "falling" of the

''ola caused by the 6apakobam symbolizes his death. At this time "the
Pariserom have him by the wikosa (the long rope belt.) In other words,
they are in control of him, both in life and in death. "He goes to the
world of the Judfos (iSapakobam). Only for a little while, he is dead. He
has died and gone to the underworld and therefore is baptized like the

Pariserom." The ^O^ola appears not to have a manda, but to be selected

by the Pariserom and forced to serve. Once he has served one year, he
must serve an additional two, making three in all, or death will follow.
One of our informants claimed to know of an old man who refused to
serve the three years and died, the inference being his refusal caused
his death. Two other examples of Gapakoba interest in burlesquing the
old people are useful in terms of the inference which follows below. Be
fore a Friday procession, an old man with a cloth head covering entered
the church and knelt to pray. As he did so, a ftapakoba burlesqued his
behavior by kneeling between the old man and the altar. Also, after the
procession of the ?' O ? ola for limosnas came to our house, there was a
bapakoba with a cane walking with a limp and a bent back, obviously
portraying an old man. The relationship is one of absolute Parisero con
trol over the ^O^ola and by extension all the old people. The apakobam
have their wikosam, they have the power to drag the old people to the
world of the Pariserom. They control the ?O ?ola in death as well as in
life.
The average Mayo homeowner and his family also play a part in
the Easter ceremonial and have a relation with the Pariserom. The Parise
rom contact Mayo homes three times during Lent. During the third through
the fifth weeks of Lent, Christ rests at and visits many Mayo and mestizo
homes in the river valley. Before we moved to Camalobo, our home in

175

Sialipaku was visited by a Mayo procession with a black crucifix, the

symbol of the Pariserom. In the procession, there were two Parisero offi
cers (Ya^utiim), two Capakobam both with drums, one Tampalero (drum
mer), two ^Alawasim, two boys, one with a bell and a box for limonas
and the other with a black crucifix surrounded with red flowers. The two
boys came up to the door. In our neighborhood, in Sialipaku, we noticed
the wife in several homes take the crucifix into the house for a minute and
then return it to the boy. One of our informants from that area said that
the members of the household take the image, Christ, the crucifix, into
the house, adore him, cross themselves, and say prayers. When asked
what the houseowners said to the members of the procession, he answered,
"Nothing, they Just adore Christ. " He said that this visit would cure
sick members of the household. The second encounter between the house
hold and the Pariserom takes place when they lead the ^O^ola around
and collect limosnas, contributions, from the houses. The visit of the
O

O ola procession to our house in Camalobo, in the BSnari area, has

already been described. The third encounter occurs when the Pariserom
knock down the tebatpo kurusim. The homeowner builds a green, 9 abaso
(cottonwood), four-cornered bower over his tebatpo kurus. He accomplishes
this by placing a cottonwood twig at each of the four corners and then by
tying together the ends of each of the twigs, making two arches. He then
places a small wooden crate beside the bower. The Pariserom arrive

176

sometime firiday before the crucifixion and pull up the cross and place it
upon the box. At this time, members of the household contribute, give
a limosna of a peso or two, to the Pariserom. That night after the cruci
fixion and the procession in which everyone carries a candle, it is the
responsibility of some member of the family to place lighted candles be
side the cross on or near the box. Christ arises between three to four
Saturday morning. Ideally at this time, however, actually between this
time and 7 or 8 a.m., it is the responsibility of a member of the house
hold to replace the tebatpo kurus in its upright position. When it is
replaced, it is also to be decorated with red flowers. This parallels the
ritual going on at the church. "When they put up the kurus yo 'owe (the
Church Cross) at 3 a.m. at the church they flower it." Thus, the house
holds aid and cooperate with the Pariserom in the Easter ceremonial by
giving limosnas, and by resting Christ, providing a locus for the com
plex set of ritual as directed by the charter, which states that Christ
travelled around, staying at individual homes and curing the sick before
he was crucified. Also, a counter-theme is expressed in the "knocking
down" of the tebatpo kurusim by the Pariserom. This relation, one of
force and destruction, symbolizes the authority of the Pariserom at this
point in the ceremonial. The house cross guards the house. It protects
the inhabitants. Some say that angels come down at night and sit upon
the cross. The removal of the cross symbolizes the subordination of the

177

family to the Pariserom and its destruction by the power of the Pilato and
his crucifixion of Christ. Thus, the families aid the Parisero sodality
to put on the ceremonial and symbolically are destroyed by them.
At times, the Pariserom also control the Bahi Mariam (chiefly
the little girls and their godmothers) and the Bahi Reyesim (the little boy
angels, the men of the procession, the boys who guard the bower with
the crosses Just before the crucifixion, and the secular male political
authority). There is not time to include but a brief summary of the inter
relations between these groups and the Pariserom. In ceremonial partici
pation, there is a separation between the Bahi Mariam who make up the
body of the procession and the Bahi Reyesim, who either participate or
follow behind the procession. It is the Bahi Reyesim, or the male secu
lar political authority, which the Pariserom force into passivity during
Lent. At the time of the crucifixion there are several young men of 7
to 11 years of age who stand within the ''abaso bower, enclosing the
two crucifixes. They are powerless in protecting Christ against the
Pilato. When the power of the Pariserom is finally destroyed on Holy
Saturday and Easter Sunday, the Bahi Reyesim triumph. Thus, the re
lation between the Pariserom and the Bahi Reyesim is one of contest and
confrontation characterized by force and attempts toward destruction.
The Pariserom having the balance of power and thus exerting force upon
the Bahi Reyesim during most of the Lenten season.

178

The relation between the Bahi Mariam and the Pariserom does not
involve such a direct confrontation of force as does that between the
Bahi Reyesim and the Pariserom. The Bahi Mariam, including the little
girl angels, have perhaps a more important part to play within the Easter
ceremonial than do the Bahi Reyesim. The women form a large part of
the processions, worshipping along with the Maestro and the Paskome,
who are responsible for the ceremonial. They kneel during the proper
portions of the prayers, weave flower crowns and tear up flowers for
the little angels, respond in unison to some of the Maestro's service,
and bring flowers to the images. The Pariserom do enforce the ritual
sanctions where the Bahi Mariam are concerned, forcing them to kneel
correctly, not leave processions, and pray all night Good Friday. How
ever, the relation with the Bahi Mariam is one more of temptation and
bribery, rather than force. Recall the attempts of the Capakobam to
bribe the little angels and the Gapakoba dramas directed toward the
Bahi Mariam as the audience. Recall also that the Bahi Mariam feed
the Pariserom coffee and bread after the concluding procession on Easter
Sunday. They are fed, however, as men returning from a long trip and
not as Pariserom. In conclusion, a complex relationship of bribery and
temptation exists between the Bahi Mariam and the Pariserom; however,
there also is the respect and aid relation seen in the feeding, on Easter
Sunday, when the Pariserom, as men, not Pariserom, are fed.

179

Another important relationship which involves temptation and

bribery and then a contract is that between the Pariserom and the deer
and Paskola dancers and musicians. These performers are provided by
the Parisero sodality and must be sought out and contracted by members
of the sodality. A contract is involved in the sense that the performers
are paid for their services by the Pariserom. Although some may dance
as a manda, most are paid. Once they are contracted, they must obey
the officers of the Parisero sodality, who act as protectors of order.
Thus, a purely contractual relationship exists between the Paskola and
deer dancers and their musicians, and the Pariserom who pay for their
services.
The Paskome participate together with the Pariserom in creating
the Easter ceremonial. As a Kabo told us, "It is our CPariseroJ ceremony;
they, the Paskome, are always with us. " Thus, the relationship between
the Pariserom and the Paskome at one level is characterized by respect
and cooperation in producing the ceremonial. The Paskome or Pasko
Personasim have made a manda to the patron saint of the Banari Church,
Santisima Tiniran (Holy Trinity), to serve for three years (not necessarily
consecutive) as the organization which plans and carries out the labor
necessary in producing the yearly round of ceremonials. Also, the
Paskome-Parisero relationship is one of competition and conflict, reflect
ing the Parisero bid for power and control. The Paskome sweep and

180

prepare the sacred Way of the Cross each Rriday before the procession.
o
During the procession, the lowest ranking Paskome, the Alawasim,
protect the crosses from the tiapakobam.

They stand with the butt end

of a short wooden staff decorated with ribbons resting upon the top of
the cross, and with their right hand hold their switches, ready to switch
any Capakoba who attacks the cross. During the whole Easter cere
monial, the Paskome constantly have duties like that described above,
which place them in conflict with the Pariserom's goal of complete con
trol. The Paskome always are working very closely with the Church
groups and the Maestro. It would take too much space to discuss the
status-role system of the Paskome; however, another example of Gapakobam-Paskome interaction is instructive. On Good Friday, just before
the crucifixion, a tomb is constructed within the church by outlining a
rectangular area with a foot high pile of dirt. The tomb is within this
rectangle of dirt. Two Paskome, with long switches, stand within this
tomb guarding it against the apakobam. In summary, the Paskome
cooperate with the Pariserom in producing the ceremonial; however,
within the ceremonial context, the two groups are opposed with the
Paskome protecting the sacred areas from the Pariserom through the use
of the long switches. Their relation then is characterized both by aid
and respect in some social contexts and conflict manifest in the threat
of whipping in other contexts.

181

Another very Important relationship is that between the Pariserom

and the Maestros and other church groups, such as the altar women and
the Matattini sodality, a dance society dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the
patron saint of the Banari church. During most of the Lenten season, the
Pariserom are equal in power with the church groups; however, with the
crucifixion, they take control of the church groups. Thus, during Lent,
a relationship of increasing Parisero control and use of force and de
struction over the church groups is developing. Recall the increasing
burlesque of the Gapakobam described earlier in this section. On the
other hand, close cooperation in producing the ceremonial is required be
tween these two sets of groups. For example, Just after the crucifixion
four men, one a Parisero and the others assistants to the Maestros, co
operated in the removal of the images of Christ from the life-size cross
and from a second small cross. At this point, the Maestro plays one of
the most important roles in the Easter ceremonial. He conducts a funeral
service, reading parts of the mass for the dead, which lasts several hours.
Of course, he has been a key personality in all of the Eriday and Easter
week processions, but to delineate his complete role would require a
great deal more space than is available within the framework of our chief
concern. Following the mass, the relationship between the Maestros
and the Pariserom becomes crucial, because early Saturday morning
Christ returns from the dead, he arises, and in this act the Pariserom

182

are defeated. The house crosses and the church crosses are replaced
and flowered, and late Saturday morning the Pariserom are baptized and
in this way, as men, are saved. The Maestro is the instrument of the
baptism and thus the salvation of the Pariserom is in the MaestroParisero relation. On Saturday morning, a large drape is set up in front
of the altar and the main part of the service takes place with the Maestro
and his aides and the Parisero Ya uSim (officers) behind the drape. How
ever, outside of the drape we observed the godparents removing the ritual
paraphernalia from the fcapakobam and baring their backs. After the
Gloria, but while the bells were still ringing, a Maestro comes out with
a white bowl of water in his left hand and a mesquite sprig in his right
hand. The mesquite had blossoms which were green and just beginning
to flower. The Maestro asks the godparents, "Is this your godchild?"
And they answer, "Yes, thank you. " Then he answers, "Thank you" and
dips his sprig into the water and sprinkles and pats the bare back of the
Gapakoba. The young man jumps when the cool water strikes his back.
It is said that this water of baptism cools the Pariserom, who are burn
ing up. This is identical with infant baptism, except the name of the
individual being baptized is not given. The men must be baptized be
cause they have done the things which 6apakobam do. Also, like the
^O^ola, they have been to the land of the dead and are being made
men again. After the baptism, other church groups, such as the

183

Matafcinim, appear and begin to dance. The Matafiini members also

dance on the next day, Easter Sunday. In summary, the Maestros and
the church groups cooperate with the Pariserom in producing the cere
monial and share power with them early in Lent. As Lent progresses,
the Pariserom gain power and finally, symbolized by the crucifixion,
through the use of force, subjugate and attempt to destroy all the powers
of the church. Christ arises and the roles are reversed with the Maestros
serving as the means of salvation for the men of the Parisero sodality.
On Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, the Maestros reassert their authority
as representatives of God (^Itom ^Afiai ^Usi), and of the church (^Itom
^Aye, Our Mother), and the Gapakoba masks and material apparatus are
burned, and the members of the sodality become men again.
The last important social relation between the Pariserom and an
other group or category of individuals is that between the Parisero and
his godparents. Every Parisero must have two individuals, a male, the
godfather (padrino) and a female, the godmother (madrina), who present
him to the Maestro. The godparents have to be present only at the time
of the baptism on Holy Saturday. A set of godparents may serve only
three years. Then, if one has a longer promise, he must select a new
set of godparents. Many of the other participants in the Easter ceremonial
also have godparents, such as the Bahi Mariam and the Bahi Reyesim;
however, the Paskome and the Maestros do not. The godparents often

184

play an extremely important ceremonial role, such as the madrinas of the

**0?ola. He must have eight because Christ had eight madrinas. He also
has madrinas and is baptized because he has gone to the world of the
Gapakobam, the world of the dead; he has died. Recall that in the running
? ?
of the O ola the madrinas protected him from the Gapakobam with long
switches and also offered him water to drink from a gourd when he knelt
at the stations of the Way of the Cross. The madrinas also accompany
him when the Pariserom take him from house to house, collecting limosnas, contributions.
The godparents are of equal importance to the Parisero because
they intercede for him, so to speak; they make it possible for him to be
baptized and to become a man. Around 11:45 a.m., Saturday, the Pari
sero Kapitanes and Pilatom marched into the church, followed by their
godparents and all disappeared behind the curtain before the altar. The
Sapakobam began lining up on both sides of the path from the church altar
out through the front door and to the kurus mayor (the church cross) with
their godparents standing behind them. This path is the sacred way on
which the gloria group was to run in a few minutes. The godparents
took off the bapakobam's blankets and face scarves and the men tilted
back their masks and smoked. The godparents fanned them with their
blankets and inside the church with hats. This is the time when the
Gapakobam are burning up. Suddenly the loria (gloria) group burst out

185

of the church shouting loria, and as flowers were thrown, they ran to the
o
kurus mayor where they struck the ground with hu' upa switches. This
pattern was repeated three times while the Sacristan was ringing the
bells and firecrackers, kohetes, were being ignited. During all this time,
the godparents were fanning. Then the godparents took the masks and in
1961, the madrina, godmother, placed the mask under her arm and clasped
it to her waist. In 1965, the padrino, godfather, took the mask and hung
it over his left arm. In both years the godfather took the wooden sword
and placed it over his right shoulder. By this time, the ttapakobam were
down on all fours, knees and palms of the hands, and the godparents
had bared their backs. Then the Maestro came by, and after the veri
fication that the young man was the godson of the godparents, he flicked
the water of baptism on the bare back. Then the padrino, madrina, and
the young man got up and entered the church and went to the altar to pray.
During all this time, the Sacristan was ringing the church bells, and the
deer and Paskola dancers had begun to dance just beyond the bell plat
form. After the prayers at the altar, the godparents and godchild came
back to the kurus yo^owe, where they knelt in front of the cross. Then
the madrina placed a rosary over the head of the young man and crossed
him with it or he crossed himself; the pattern varies. Some crossed only
once, others twice. Some crossed with confidence, others with uncer
tainty. Then the padrino placed a rosary over the head of the young man

186

and crossed him with it. They all stood and shook hands and walked off
in the direction of a large fire, where the former bapakoba threw his
mask and ritual paraphernalia on the fire. With this, the ceremonial
obligation of the godparents was completed. However, if the godchild
is visiting in their village, he is obligated to drop by their house and
eat tortillas and drink coffee there. Thus, the godparents play a very
important role in relation to the Pariserom, a relation characterized by
respect and aid. They are the link by which the Parisero can become a
man again.
In summary, we have provided a rich framework of behavior which
substantiates the structure of the Parisero society which we postulated
in the preceding section, Personnel. We have seen that beyond a doubt
the organization is a hierarchical set of ranked statuses, from that of
Pllato, who crucifies Christ, down to that of Sapakoba, who is the
soldier in the army of Pilate and who knows no shame because he is not
quite a man. In the immediately preceding paragraphs, we have examined
the types of relationships which exist between the Parisero sodality and
other sodalities and sets of individuals, such as the Maestros, the Paskome, the Bahi Mariam, the Bahi Reyesim, the deer-Paskola dancers,
the ^O^ola, the Mayo houseowners, and the godparents (padrinos and
madrinas). To conclude this section, we will summarize the structure
of these relations within the following types: respect and aid, temptation

187

and bribery, whipping, force, and destruction, especially by burning.

Among Mayos, there is a great deal of respect for individuals who parti
cipate as Pariserom. The Pariserom maintain the custom, La Kostumbre,
and in this sense, are respected and aided. The Pariserom and the
Paskome produce the Easter ceremonial together. The Maestros work for
the ceremony and cooperate with the Parisero sodality and are especially
symbolically important when they baptize the Pariserom, making them
men again. The houseowners aid the Pariserom through limosnas, con
tributions, and by freely giving coffee to the participants. The Bahi
Mariam also aid in feeding the Pariserom coffee and bread on Easter Sun
day. In mutual cooperation in producing the Easter ceremonial, all these
groups and Individuals are linked together. Perhaps one of the nicest
examples of a cooperating unit is the loria group which consists of a
deer dancer and several Paskolas, two ^Alawasim, and three ttapakobam
with white colored masks. This is the group which runs between the
O
church altar and the kurus yo owe (the church cross), symbolically
announcing the defeat of the Pariserom and assimilation of the men as
Mayos again. This group includes representatives of the deer and Paskola world, of the Church and Paskome, and of the Pariserom all coopera
ting together as a unit, all symbolizing the unity of the Mayo socio
political and cultural way of life. Also, it is interesting to note that
they are all more or less equal in rank in their own respective organizations,

188

especially the ^Alawasim and Capakobam; thus they can cooperate as

equals.
The Easter ceremonial symbolizes a great deal more than coopera
tion in social relations. The deer and Paskola dancers and musicians
are contracted for and paid in cash as well as in goods. Temptation
and bribery play a key role in the relation between the Gapakobam and
the small children, the little angels. Again, interaction is at the level
of equals; thus the Gapakobam tempt the little children, but are not in
a position to force them. Whipping is a more serious authoritarian type
of social relationship. Again, the interaction takes place among social
equals but across sodality lines. ^Alawaslm and the ^O^ola's madrinas
ship bapakobam and drive them away. The higher ranking Paskome or
the Maestros have little or no interaction with the low ranking tlapakobam.
The loria group, however, joins together in whipping the earth in front
of the kurus yo^owe, the church cross, and the tlapakobam also whip
the earth in front of the church on Easter Sunday. This whipping relation
can be shown to provide another link between the Gapakobam and the
dead. When asked why four carrizo poles were carried with the wooden
casket of a dead person to the cemetery, we got the surprising answer
that they were for the padrinos and madrinas of the deceased to use to
beat away dogs or trespassers who might harm the body. The four carrizos
are placed in the four corners of the grave. Then on the eighth day they

189

are removed. When asked If this was like the Paskome guarding Christ's
tomb on Santo Vlernes (Good Friday) our friend answered, "exactly." He
continued voluntarily, "It is also like the madrinas who beat off the 6apakobam with long switches (carrizos) guarding the ^O^ola on Maundy Thurs
day. " Thus, the whipping symbolizes the driving away of death, of evil,
and of the bapakobam. This aspect of the Easter ceremonial resanctifies,
purifies, Mayo country. It is part of the confessional of the Pariserom.
It opens the way for spring, for a rich crop, and fertility in the domestic
animals, as well as amongst Mayos themselves. The social relation
characterized by whipping therefore has a key symbolic meaning within
the Easter ceremonial.
Force in social relations characterizes especially Easter Week.
This last week is opened by the capture of the ^O^ola by the Pariserom.
The entire ^Q?ola-Parisero relationship is one of force. "The ^O^ola
is captured like a prisoner." The Pariserom finally force him to run around
the Way of the Cross and then knock him down symbolically, destroying
him. The Bahi Reyesim, the men of the village, also come under the
force of the Pariserom. Finally, in the crucifixion of Christ, the Pari
serom reach the apex of this relation of force and the relation becomes
that of destruction. All the crosses are pulled up, destroyed. Pilato de
stroys Christ. But Christ arises from the dead and in turn the Pariserom
are destroyed, burned. Thus, ultimately, they lose their power because

190

they elected to utilize that ultimate type of social relation, beyond which
there no longer can be a society. Once destruction becomes a legitimate
type of social relation, anarchy, rather than society, exists.
Material Apparatus. The System of Symbols of Status
Introduction
At this point, we turn to an analysis of the material apparatus used
in the Banari Easter ceremonial. Our analysis proceeds from the assump
tion that material apparatus just does not happen, but that it provides a
very real reference to the social structure and organization of the cere
monial and of the Parisero sodality. The apparatus provides symbolic
foci for the shared understandings necessary in the maintenance of the
structure of statuses. Individuals in ritual statuses are both recognized
and their behavior legitimized through the system of material apparatus.
The material apparatus, therefore, can be conceived of as a system of
symbols of status. Organized activities take place, partially at least,
because the symbols of status provide a very real common basis for agree
ment. When there is social agreement, common action can take place.
Thus, through agreement symbolized in the material apparatus, (symbols
of status) the groups necessary to produce the Easter ceremonial as de
lineated in the norms and charter interact, yielding the set of activities

191

taking place during the Lenten season. Radcliffe-Brown (1952:199) very

nicely delineates this basis for cooperation which material apparatus may
have.
. . . Asocial relation exists between twoormoreindividual
organisms when there is some adjustment of their respective
interests, by convergence of interest, or by limitation of con
flicts that might arise from divergence of interests. I use the
term "interest" here in the widest possible sense, to refer to
all behaviour that we regard as purposive. To speak of an in
terest implies a subject and an object and a relation between
them. Whenever we say that subject has a certain interest in an
object, we can state the same thing by saying that the object
has a certain value for the subject. Interest and value are
correlative terms, which refer to the two sides of an asymmetri
cal relation.
Thus the study of social structure leads immediately to
the study of interests or values as the determinants of social
relations. A social relation does not result from similarity
of interests, but rests either on the mutual interest of per
sons in one another, or on one or more common interests, or on
a combination of both of these. The simplest form of social
solidarity is where two persons are both interested in bringing
about a certain result and cooperate to that end. When two or
more persons have a common interest in an object, that object
can be said to have a social value for the persons thus
associated.
It is then the social value of the material apparatus which we wish to
analyze. We will proceed by discussing first the specific symbols of
status, such as the horse and red banner of the Pilato, the sword of the
Kapitan, the machete and whip of the Sargento and Kabo, the flute and
drum of the Flautero and Tampalero, and mentioning the masks of the
fcapakoba.

Secondly, we describe the masks and different types of head

coverings. Thirdly, we consider the other props of the Pariserom, such

192

as sandals, blankets, and wooden items. Lastly, we contrast the Parisero

material apparatus with additional material apparatus used by the other
Easter sodalities.
Pllato
First, we turn to the Pilato and ask ourselves what material ap
paratus symbolizes his status as head of the Pariserom. At homes of two
pariserom, one in the Fuerte River Valley and the other in Arokosi, we ob
served small ramada like structures during Lent. These probably exist
in the Banari area also, but we had no opportunity to observe them. They
consisted of four three-foot-high Y-shaped supports with a roof of a mat.
Under this small ramada were two smaller Y-shaped sticks, takalaim,
with a blue slate-like object attached to one. Also observed in the
Fuerte Valley were a wooden leg and a wooden rod on the wall of a
Pilato's home. He told us they were for his position as Pilato in the
Easter ceremony. These objects were not observed in Banari, but the
ftapakobam play with a rubber doll's leg and foot, which indicates either
their existence or at least shared symbolism. The leg was around 1.5
feet long and had two blue and two red paper ribbons wrapped around the
upper portion of it. They were in two bands of blue, red, and blue, red,
moving up the leg. The rod was some 2 feet long with painted bands of
color at its upper end and a metal tip at its lower end. They were mounted
in a prominent place on the inner wall of his house with the leg crossed

193

over the rod and both behind a picture of the Pilato. Since this Pllato
was a native curer and the Gapakoba play associated the rubber doll's
leg and foot with curing, the wooden leg may link his position as a Pilato
with his role as a curer. On the other hand, of course, Pilatos may also
have the power to cure. Part of the Pilato role, then, may involve the
power to cure certain illnesses. This, however is an inference from the
above data and is not contradicted by any other evidence which we col
lected. It seems reasonable that the individual who is powerful enough
to lead the Pariserom and in the end crucify Christ may have additional
outlets for his power.
Probably the three most apparent symbols of the Pilato are his
banner, face covering, and horse. Recall our earlier discussion of
Pilato horsemanship and their prominent position within the processions
? o
after the running of the ' O ola and after the crucifixion. Definitely the
prerogative of riding a horse in the processions is a symbol of the Pilato
status. It is very likely that much of the Mayo lack of sympathy for the
young man who was injured when his horse fell involved this exclusive
Pilato symbol of status. The young man not only refused to obey a Parisero, but was usurping one of the symbols of the Pilato status. Thus,
the Mayo feeling of indignity very likely related to the fact that the
young man was acting out of role, and in fact, was utilizing a symbol of
of status restricted to the Pilatos, to the highest ranking role of the

194

Pariserom. The horseback riding within Lenten processions is exclusively

a symbol and a ritual of the Pilato status.
During Holy Week, the Pilatom appear in ceremonial contexts with
a face covering. A detailed examination of the face covering will be put
off until the next section, that on masks, because both share important
functions within the ceremonial which are more easily pointed out when
they are discussed together. However, short mention of the face covering
must be made now also. On Thursday, for the running of the ?O ? ola and
the procession later, the Pariserom appear wearing pink or red face cover
ings. On Friday, for the crucifixion and the later two processions, the
Pariserom wear black coverings. They continue to wear these black cover
ings for the Gloria on Saturday and the procession and meeting of Christ
and Mary on Easter Sunday. A black cape is also worn along with the
black face covering and in the same contexts. The cape is about waist
length and adds to the feeling of power and drama which the Pilato radi
ates. Again, the wearing of cloth face coverings and capes are unique
attributes or symbols of the Pilato status. No other individual, except
the apakobam and the Paskola dancers, appear during the Easter cere
monial with their entire faces covered. The horsemanship and the red or
black face coverings do a great deal to heighten the suspense of the
Easter ceremonial as drama, and uniquely symbolize the Pilato.

195

Probably the most Important symbol of the Pilato status is the

Pilato banner. It is a long cane or bamboo pole of about six feet with a
short wooden cross piece near the top, which serves as the mount for a
six inch by four inch rectangle of cloth. The colored cloth is placed over
the cross piece. Each Pilato carries one of these banners in his right
hand during ceremonial occasions. In each of the Rriday processions of
Lent, except Good Friday, the Pilatos carry banners decorated in red cloth.
The red also is used during Holy Week for the capture of the
O

O ? ola, the

limosna (contribution) procession, the running of the 'Orola, and the

later procession on Thursday. A banner is also carried when the Pariserom run to knock down the house crosses; however, I am not sure of
the color. Then, from the time of the crucifixion until the end of the cere
monial , the color shifts to black, paralleling the use of black face cover
ings and the black capes. The banners are especially predominant during
the running of the ^O^ola, the crucifixion, the baptism (when they can
be seen standing above the curtain separating the alteir area from the rest
of the church) and the final meeting of Christ and Mary on Easter Sunday.
The banner, then, is the most predominant Pilato symbol of status occurring
everywhere that the Pilato makes an official appearance. In general, the
use of the horse, and of red and black face coverings, capes, and banners
symbolizes the status of Pilato.

196

Kapltan
The main symbol of the status of Kapitan is the sword and sheath
which he carries in most ceremonial contexts. During a procession or
when the special Parisero group is moving as a unit, the Kapitans pull
their swords out of the sheath and hold them erect in the right hand.
However, they are not unique in the use of the sword. When they march
to the bower with the

?
1

0 ? ola inside, Just before the running of the old

man, the Pilatos hold swords erect in their left hands, their red banners
in the right, and are wearing red face coverings. Also, when they march
on the church to crucify Christ, they again hold swords erect in their
left hands, their black banners in the right, and wear black face cover
ings and black capes. In summary, in all ceremonial contexts except
these two, only the Kapitanes were observed carrying swords; thus it
would appear that the sword is the ritual symbol of the Kapitan status.
Kabo
The two key symbols of the Kabo status are the machete and the
whip. The machete is half way between a large knife and a small sword,
and is carried in a sheath strapped across the chest. Sometimes the Kabo
may hold the machete up in his hand; however, generally he is running to
carry out an order and has the machete in the sheath. Also, the Kabo has
a rope whip with a metal spring at the handle end. He carries the whip
hooked onto his belt behind his back, where it is readily available.

197

However, we did not observe any Instance of the whip being used. Thus,
it seems likely that they have become almost, if not entirely exclusively,
a symbol of status identity.
The Kabos, as well as Kapitanes, Flauteros, and Tampaleros,
wear a colored scarf or bandana around their necks. Sometimes they will
pull it up over their mouths. In processions, one Kabo in particular, often
would pull a pink bandana with a small cross embroidered on a corner up
over his nose and mouth. This is a rather common Mayo habit and espe
cially on cold mornings one can see many men wearing scarves over their
noses and mouths. In summary, the machete and the whip are the major
symbols of Kabo status; however, they, as well as other Parisero Ya 9 uim
(officers) wear a colored scarf or bandana, often pink or dark purple, which
they sometimes pull up over their faces in ceremonial contexts.
Flautero and Tampalero
The symbols of status of the Flautero is his flute and of the
Tampalero is his drum. Recall that each Friday of Lent, except Good Fri
day, the Flautero plays a long solo to the Images in the church. During
the playing, he wears his hat, which some Fridays was decorated with a
flower. He also wears a dark purple scarf which he pulls over his mouth
when not playing. His flute is a full two feet long, has a number of
finger holes, and technically is a whistle being blown straight through
from the end away from the finger holes. The Tampalero's drum has two

198

heads like that of the Capakobam and the Paskola drummer, but it is 17"
to 24" in depth, rather than the six inches of the 6apakoba drum. The
heads are around twelve inches in diameter. The drum is like the one used
by the Mo^oro in certain exercises or rituals of the Paskome. In summary,
the drum and the flute, whistle, are the special symbols of status or
material apparatus of the Tampalero and the Flautero of the Pariserom.
6apakoba
The mask, mascara, provides the outstanding symbol of ftapakoba
status. It is a helmet type of mask, white, black, or brown, with long
hair, a long triangular nose, shorter triangular ears, and painted eyes
and mouth. However, since the mask is more meaningfully analyzed in
the following section, that concerned with head coverings, we shall turn
to other fcapakoba material apparatus. This consists of rattles, swords,
knives, blankets, other items of clothing, and miscellaneous props or
ftapakoba toys. The well attired 6apakoba wears cocoon rattles,
tenebarim, around his lower legs just above the ankle. The tenebarim,
like those worn by the Paskola dancer and deer dancers, are moth cocoons
strung in strings which are long enough to make several wraps around each
leg of the 6apakoba. However, they are much shorter than the strings
worn by the Paskola and deer dancers. Also, the Sapakoba wears a
string of deer or goat hoofs, rehtitiam, around his waist, like the deer
dancer. However, again, the bapakoba rehutiam is not nearly as elaborate

199

as that of a deer dancer. In order to provide a more detailed description

of these symbols of status, on the following pages I quote at length from
Kurath (1966:32) on the Yaquis. The Mayo tenebarim and rehutiam are
essentially identical with that of the Yaquis. Also, to place the quote
in a broader context, we must digress very slightly. Recall that in the
last section we mentioned that the Gapakobam portrayed the deer dance.
One Gapakoba had notched his sword, which he scraped with his knife to
mimic the three deer musicians and singers who play rasps. Also, a
Gapakoba had a set of the traditional deer gourd rattles (Cucurbita crescentia, Kurath 1966:32). He also had a deer head mounted on his Gapakoba mask, paralleling the deer dancer's use of a deer head tied to the
top of his head (see Kurath 1966:Fig. 1). Thus, during the Friday proces
sions, when this group of Gapakobam put on their little presentation, it
was uncannily like Kurath's description of the deer dance. In the follow
ing quote (Kurath 1966:32), note especially the construction of the rattles
and the tenebarim (cocoon rattles) and the rehutiam (hoof rattles) which,
recall, are not as elaborate for the Gapakobam as they are for the deer
dancer. The bracketed and underlined phrases are my additions to the
following quote. The Gapakobam with drums would act as the "deer"
drummer mentioned below.
. . . cThe rasp players scrapes a short stick back and forth
horizontally, twice as fast as the drum beat, with a slight
accent every fourth b e a t . . . .

200

The dancer manipulates two gourd rattles, of the same

species as the resonators Cthe ftapakoba rasp player does not
use a gourd resonator]. but not quite as large, about 5 inches
in diameter. At times, one gourd is more elongated than the
other (Beals 1945sPl. 17,2). Usually, both are spherical, are
filled with pellets, pebbles, or corn kernels, and are fitted
with a handle. The dancer produces a continuous swishing
sound by a rotary motion of the left wrist and forearm. With
"sht" by a vertical rebound of his right wrist and forearm.
With the left rattle, he accents every first beat in time with
the accompanists; with the right hand, he somewhat accents
the first and third beats. The rebound of the pellets during
the upward stroke is very soft. Together, the two rattles mingle
into a strong, yet subtle sound. During certain parts of the
drama, as at the entrance, the Deer shivers both rattles in a
horizontal tremolo.
While gourd rattles are common tribal props, the Yaqui
passive idiophones are very special. The hoofs for the belt
stem from the same dainty creature as the headdress, the
Odocoileus vlrglnlanus couesi, a Whitetail deer similar to the
more northern variety, but much smallerno larger than a goat.
It is a denizen of the Sierra Madre Occidental up into Southern
Arizona and south through Central Mexico, where it is still
smaller (William H. Burt, communication). The fabrication
of a belt takes time. The 160 hoofssupplemented by a few
goat hoofsmeant the sacrifice of 20 deer. [Obviously the
Gapakoba rehutlam do not carry nearly this many deer hoofs
because the rehutlam is a more peripheral symbol of Capakoba
status than it is of deer dancer status.! Each hoof is perforated
at the tip for the insertion of a thong, while the flaring mouth
of the inch-long cone is notched for decoration. Each cone
dangles from the belt, which is ornamented with a design of
thongs. As the Deer jumps up and down, the hoofs fly up and
fall, jingling against each other on the assent and the descent.
Though centrifugal force slightly delays the descent, in general
the assents synchronize with those of the rattles. All of the
Deer's actions are vertical and determine this pattern of the
rattles. In contrast with the strong Jingle of the hoofs, the
cocoon rattles whisper. On each leg, the Deer wears a
twelve-foot thong-string of cocoons rthe Sapakoba strings
are not nearly twelve feet in length. more nearly three of
four feet] from a large bambyzoid moth, Rothschlldia jorulla.
peculiar to southern Arizona and northern Mexico. These
giant silk moths (whose silk is not utilized) fasten their

201

cocoons to shrubs. When they emerge in the spring, the Indians

can gather the cocoons. They place four pebbles from the top
of an ant hill in each (Volney Jones, 1951 MS. and communica
tion). They sew them together in pairs, about 120 cocoons to
each string. The dancer wraps a string around each ankle and
secures it with a loop of the thong. As he bounds, the 960
pebbles within the 240 leather-like cocoons rustle with each
motion, twice as fast as the hoofs, within the 1-inch confines
of each cocoon. All together their quality is still pianissimo,
perhaps piano during especially vigorous leaps (see Densmore
1932:29).
Thus the tenebarim and rehutiam are important symbols in the Capakoba
presentation. Also, tJapakoba have a characteristic shaking motion,
slightly like a dog shaking off water. They use this motion which sets
in motion all their rattles, making a characteristically tiapakoba sound
for expressing extreme interest, fright, or concern over some action tak
ing place. In summary, these two sets of rattles are an important aspect
of Gapakoba material apparatus.
Perhaps much more predominant are the knives and swords which
all ttapakoba carry and the drums which about half of them carry. The
wooden swords, 3 to 4 feet long, called lansum, and the wooden knives,
8" to 12" long, are decorated with red and green designs with the cutting
edges painted red. Of course, this red symbolizes the blood of Christ
as do the red lines which the Capakobam paint on their lower arms and
legs at the time they knock down the house crosses and crucify Christ.
The sword is held in the right hand and the knife in the left. The latter
has a leather thong which encircles the wrist and goes through a hole in

202

the handle of the knife. This thong holds the knife to the arm when the
Gapakoba is using his hand for other functions than holding the knife.
The sword also has a longer leather thong. The typical procession pose
is with the sword held erect in the right hand, like the Kapitan pose, al
though when being led by a Kabo, a line of Capakobam will form through
each holding the tip of his neighbor's sword. To attract attention to him
self or to communicate, the Gapakoba will clack his knife against the
sword. A number of CJapakobam clacking can cause quite a volume of
sound which literally demands one's attention. The designs painted in
red or green are geometric or organic in motif. Some of the swords'
handles were carved in the form of a face. Thus, the wooden sword and
knife symbolize the 6apakoba status. Probably their most important
reference is to the ultimate bid for power of the Pariserom, a bid
characterized by the sword, rather than through a balance of political
powers.
Instead of swords, many Capakobam carry a drum like that used by
the Paskola. The drum has double sheepskin heads and is some six inches
in depth and some 15 inches in diameter. The drum heads are also painted
in red and green designs. A tree, a five-pointed star, and even a nude
pinup girl wearing high heels are typical design motifs. Most often the
drums are held in the left hand and played with a short wooden stick held
in the right hand. Like the clacking of swords and knives, the beating

203

of bapakoba drums creates a soundtwhich demands attention, especially

when it drifts into one's home in the wee hours of the night. Besides
the masks, the wooden swords and knives and drums painted in red and
green designs, are the key symbols of status or the material apparatus
of the tiapakobam.
The well-dressed Capakoba also includes other items. He wears
a long-sleeved, generally white or very light colored, especially khaki,
shirt, an undershirt, and plain wash pants, often khaki in color. On
Easter Sunday, the shirts are generally colored rather than white. They
either roll up the bottoms of the pants for the tenebarim or wrap the
tenebarim around the lower pants leg. This makes the pants bag slightly
in the area of the hips, somewhat like bloomers. Over the white shirt
they wear a blanket which extends down below the waist, over the hips,
to the mid section of the upper leg. The blankets are store-bought cotton
ones with geometric designs in dark colors. The blanket is worn as a
shawl over the back, and then the two ends are pulled up underneath
the arms and tied to a cloth loop sewed to the part behind the neck. This
means that at the back there is plain unbroken blanket with each top end
pulled underneath the armpits, up over the shoulder, and hooked in the
loops at the back of the neck. Then a large pin is used half way down
the chest to pin together the two edges of the blanket coming around the
body. At the waist, the belt of rattles, rehutiam, holds the blanket

204

around the body. Above the blanket, a huge white cloth is wrapped around
the head and hangs out beneath the mask, draping over the shoulders (see
Fig. 4a). Finally, the mask over the cloth wrapped head tops off the
Gapakoba attire. These items, except the shirt and pants, are removed
one by one by the godparents at the gloria and baptism on Holy Saturday.
At this time, one can observe just how the well-groomed 6apakoba
dresses. This combination of mask, sword, knife, drum, white cloth,
blanket, and tenebarim and rehutiam is the unique symbol of Gapakoba
status, the set of feapakoba material apparatus.
Gapakobam also make ingenious use of items of traditional Mayo
material culture. This section I have divided into planned use and acci
dental use. Planned use involves bringing items to the procession for
a specific performance. Accidental use includes the following. One Fri
day, as the procession was forming, a Capakoba found a ball, which
produced a performance of a pelota ball game with the two lines of Capakobam kicking the ball back and forth. On other occasions, a dead bird
and dead snake became objects of play. A piece of bread and a comic
book discarded beside the church became props for a Capakoba pantomime
of eating and reading. A small metal bucket and small discarded wine
bottles became receptacles for the collection of human "feces" in Gapakoba pantomime.
Other apparatuses were made especially for the performance.
For example, one Friday, a fcapakoba carried a three-foot-high plain

205

wooden cross to the church where he left it propped against the side of
the church. When questioned about this, one Mayo answered, "On the
final konti they crucify Christ." The Capakoba had manufactured the
cross specifically to carry this meaning. Some brought money with
which they tried to bribe the little angels, toy guns, another a rubber
doll's leg and foot which he placed on the end of his sword and a baby
bottle with a rubber nipple. Another had a violin on which he played
Paskola songs. He utilized his talent in playing the violin, as well as
his instrument, but as a ttapakoba.

Others had the wood phallic repre

sentation with the glans carefully carved. These obviously were carved
specifically for the 6apakoba performance. Others had made a small
two-foot high figure of Judas, which was entirely covered with fireworks,
to be thrown on the fire which consumed the masks. Another Capakoba
had constructed a small box with a figure of Christ in it, to which we
have already referred and discussed in some detail. In summary, addi
tional Capakoba material apparatus is extremely varied, turning out to
be anything which is useful as a prop in a pantomime of traditional
activities, for example, a violin, a phallic representation, a ball, a
bottle, or even a bit of bread or a tomato. However, the main symbols
of Capakoba status are the mask, the sword and knife, the drum, and
the blanket wrapped around a very peculiarly dressed individual. The

206

combination of these symbols of status produces a very striking, troubling,

and intriguing creature, the Sapakoba.
General Parlsero Apparatus
There are also symbols of Parisero status, material apparatus which
are shared by all the members of the sodality. This class of items I have
divided into a catch-all category and a head-covering category. The
latter is of great importance, whereas the former, including items such
as specific patron saints' images, painting the arms and legs., a rosary,
a specific use of sandals and shoes is less obvious than, say, a mask or
a face covering. The members of the Parisero sodality accept the cruci
fied Christ as their patron saint or guardian supernatural. This image,
Santo Cristo, ^Itom ^A&ai ^Usi, must include a cross which is dark
gray or black in color, the color being very important. Often, simply a
dark colored crucifix is part of the Parisero's home altar and is one of
the images which he pays especial respect to when he prays in the church.
Recall the Parisero mukti (prayer pattern) described earlier in which the
crucifix was an important focus of prayers. We also observed one Pari
sero home altar which had a simple black wood cross some 18 inches
high, which was resting upon a very small chair perhaps 12 inches high
with a 6 inch square seat. The chair and the cross were attached to the
wall beside the altar shelf containing the other household images. Thus,
the dark crucifix, of course symbolizing the ultimate Parisero bid for

207

power, is a very important symbol of Parisero status even though it is not

a readily visible symbol. The coffin of Christ, which will be discussed in
the next section, provides an additional symbol of the Parisero status,
carrying much the same meaning as does the dark crucifix.
The Parisero painting of red stripes on their forearms and lower
legs should also be mentioned here as a key symbol of status. This only
takes place when they knock down the house and church crosses because
Christ has been crucified at this time. I was first told that the painting
was in four colors. However, a second Parisero, a man who had been a
Parisero more recently than the first, corrected him, saying that the paint
ing was only in red. So there may be two alternative patterns, one in four
colors, naikl kolorim, and the other in red, slklll. "The red color is sym
bolic of the blood of Christ." I asked specifically if real blood was used
and was told it was simply red paint. Obviously, the red blood color
links to the red cutting edges of the Capakoba swords and knives and
again symbolizes the ultimate Parisero bid for power.
Sandals, berabottam. provide another symbol of Parisero status;
however, many participants in Banari wear sandals because it is a very
conservative ceremonial center (see R. Crumrine 1966:49). "... Sandals
generally consist of a sole of rubber cut from an old car tire held on the
feet, either with straps of leather which are fastened to the sole at three
points (hence the Mayo descriptive name bahl puntSra. three pointed) or
with broad and narrow strips of leather" (R. Crumrine 1968:39). Throughout

208

the Friday processions and Easter week, the Pariserom wear sandals,
beraboftam. However, on Easter Sunday, they appear with shoes, yorlboSam (Yori, mestizo; bottam, footwear). Thus, the sandal is an impor
tant symbol of Parisero status, as well as a symbol of Mayo ethnic status,
which is discarded on Easter Sunday when the Pariserom have become men
again.
Lastly, the Parisero rosary is of extreme importance. This was
illustrated to us when our Kabo Informant left his at home. He was visibly
upset and immediately sent his daughter home for the rosary and his machete.
Although he took part in the procession, he was obviously greatly relieved
at the arrival of the rosary, which he placed around his neck and under
neath his shirt. Thus, being underneath one's shirtor in the case of
the bapakobam, underneath the maskthe rosary is not a visible symbol
of status, although it is felt to be very important. When the Sapakoba
has his mask on he holds the end of the rosary in his mouthhe "eats"
itand repeats the prayer. When the Pariserom have been baptized, the
ceremony is concluded by the godparents placing new rosaries over the
heads of the Pariserom while they kneel in front of the church cross,
o
kurus yo owe and repeat the Credo.
The rosary of a Pilato and a Kabo were observed to consist of
white beads; however, the other rosaries observed, mainly of Capakobam,
consisted of small black beads with a small black wood cross at the end.

209

The cross looks much like two butterfly wings rather than an ordinary cross
with straight arms. After the cross is a tassel. The tassels appear to run
to turquoise color. That is to say, many of the rosaries given by the god
parents had turquoise colored tassels; however, other colors were not un
common either. This could be a variant of the green in the green and red
Parisero colors. As I recall, there were light yellow and blue ones, but
no red. The disappearance of red and the predominance of green or tur
quoise may symbolize the resurrection and the destruction of an authori
tarian and bloody bid for power. We were told that green is the color of
hope, esperanza, so logically green or turquoise would fit at this point in
the ceremonial. In summary, the above material apparatus acts symbolically
to unify the Parisero sodality. A dark crucifix, the special import of a
specific kind of rosary and its use, the painting of colored lines on the
body, and the use of sandals and of shoes in specific contexts are analyzed
as symbolic of the status of Parisero. Although other Mayos also wear san
dals and rosaries within this specific constellation, including the dark cru
cifix and the painted lines, we have a specific reference to the Parisero
status.
Head and Face Coverings
Head and face coverings appeared to be a useful class of material
apparatus which applied to all the Pariserom as a group, since some type
of "disguise" is used at one time or another by most members of the

210

Pariserom. The first item which comes to mind is the hat. Most men in
the Mayo River Valley wear an ordinary flat-topped broad-rimmed straw hat.
It is proper practice in the river valley to lift one's hat when he passes the
church door and to remove his hat when one enters the church. Also, if one
is within a sacred way or path or in. a procession, his hat should be re
moved. When a procession passes a group of men, many of them will re
move their hats.
The Pariserom, when acting within their role, deliberately and
consistently break this rule. They refuse to pay the respect of lifting one's
hat to the saints. When the Flautero plays or when the special Parisero
group enters the church, they keep their hats on during any service which
may take place. Also, during the processions, the Pariserom keep their
hats on. On Easter Sunday, both the previous dapakobam who are now
guarding the sacred way and the Pilatos and the Kapitanes, during the
meeting of Christ and Mary, keep their hats on. Thus, the Pariserom as
a group refuse to respect the supernaturals. This, of course, symbolizes
their belief in the ultimate strength of their own power which finally takes
the form of the crucifixion of Christ. They are the ultimate power and
authority; therefore, they show respect to no one or anything except the
symbols of their own power.
To turn to face coverings, we can distinguish three types, the
scarf or bandana, the face cloth, and the mask. The use of the scarf we

have already discussed at length, so our discussion here will be brief.

The main idea is that Pariserom wear a large colored scarf around their
necks, which often in ritual contexts they pull up over the nose and mouth.
We observed the Flauteros, the Kapitanes, the Kabos, and on Easter Sun
day, the previous fiapakobam wearing scarves in this manner. The scarf
is often purple or pink in color and has an embroidered cross on one corner.
The scarf over the face adds to the mystique and power of the role being
played.
Much more powerful, however, are the full face covers of the Pilatom which we have already mentioned. They are tied with a colored ribbon
at the top of the hat and fall completely across the face and down to the
neck, both in the front and the back. The cloth is light enough in weight
so the Pilato can see out, but it conceals his features and facial expres
sions greatly, increasing the aesthetic distance between the Pilato and
the audience, and giving him the powerful appearance of a faceless ex1 ola
pressionless creature. On Thursday afternoon, when they bring the ? 0?

to the church for the "running," we first observed the Pilatom wearing face
coverings. In 1961, there were two in pink on the inside of the line and
two in red on the outside, and in 1965, the number of Pilatom had in
creased to five with the extra Pilato wearing red. The ribbons or stream
ers on top were of red and gold colors. Just before the "running" or the
procession, one of the Pilatos in pink, Iscariot, made the speech at the

212

bower. Later that evening, in the procession after dark, the Pllatom also
appeared, wearing their face coverings as well as being on horseback.
On horseback, their portrayal is even more powerful. Then on Friday
afternoon before the crucifixion, they appear with black face coverings
and white ribbons, except the second Pilato from the right, facing the di
rection the line was moving, who had a gold ribbon. In the two later pro
cessions on Good Friday, and when they enter the church and go behind
the drape concealing the altar area on Saturday, and during the meeting
of Christ and Mary and the procession immediately after the meeting on
Easter Sunday, the Pilatos wear the black face coverings. Again, as
much of the other Parisero material apparatus, the face coverings sym
bolize the faceless, impersonal power which the Pariserom claim to control
and which they finally exert in the supposed destruction of their major
opposing power, that of Christ and the church. In the resurrection, their
claim is proven false. The red and then black face coverings are an in
genious dramatic and aesthetic effect which very clearly presents the
danger and impersonality of absolute power.
The last, and in many ways the most, interesting head covering of
the Parisero sodality is the mask, mascara, of the dapakoba. Perhaps the
most outstanding characteristic of the Banari masks is their long black,
brown, or white hair. Some also are black, streaked with white. They
are simply very, very hairy. The fact that the masks are made of 6iba

213

(goat) skin or javalina skin with the pelt side out explains their hairiness,
as well as the colors, which are natural. They have long narrow, pointed
ears and shorter, yet narrow, pointed noses, made of scraped pieces of
hide sewn to the masks. Others have broader ears and noses; however,
these are in the minority. The ears and nose flap as the fiapakoba turns
his head. The face is produced by scraping an oval area clean of hair
and painting eyes and a mouth. Some masks, especially those of the
dapakobam who often play the parts of girls or women, have large red lips.
Others have a specially delicately carved wooden face. This face is an
oval, around 8 inches long by 5 inches wide and rather thin, perhaps one
to two inches thick. It is near the size of a Paskola mask, however, much
thinner and with very delicate refined featureseyes, nose, and mouth
carved in the wood. After carving the features, they are lightly painted.
The wood is toro, torote in Spanish, and from a kind of tree which grows
only down by the ocean. Some Paskola masks also are made of this wood;
however, they may also be made of ''abaso, cottonwood. The 6apakoba
wood mask must be made of toro, however, The wooden mask is then
sewn to the scraped face section of the hide mask. The wooden masks
are not burned, but the wood part is removed from the hide mask and the
latter burned. This type of 6apakoba mask with the wood face is defi
nitely in the minority at Banari, the vast majority having faces simply
painted on the hide. To return to the hide section of the mask, it is con
structed of three pieces sewn together. One piece covers the top part of

214

the head and part way down the face and down the back of the head. The
second piece covers one of the sides from the face to the end of the cen
ter piece in the back. The third piece covers the other side from the face
to the end of the center piece in the back. These side pieces are long
enough so that they cover the wearer and rest on or nearly on his shoulders.
These two side pieces meet in the front and form the major part of the face,
except a bit of the forehead, which is where the center piece ends. The
two side pieces do not meet in the back, but stop when they hit the end
of the center piece. In the back, the center piece does not extend as
far down as do the side pieces. This leaves a notch out of the mask at
the back of the neck (see Fig. 4b). Recall that often a ftapakoba, when
resting, will tilt his mask back and rest it with the face area of the mask
on the young man's forehead. The notch in the back of the mask permits
them to do so mechanically (see Fig. 4a). As the mask tilts back, the
neck moves into this notched portion of the mask. Also sewn inside and
to the back top of the mask is a strap of leather. This is used to hang the
mask up when it is not in use. It also seems likely that it functions to
hold the mask on the fiapakoba's,

the performer's, head. With the notch

in the back of the mask, it would seem likely that there would be some
danger, especially when the (Sapakoba leaned forward of the mask, of
its toppling forward off his head. The strap which is fastened to the back
of the man's head, however, replaces the hide which was cut out for the
notch, holding the mask on the performer's head.

215

fiapakoba masks also have individual and group differences.

Banari Mayos easily recognize a Banari mask as versus one from another
ceremonial center. Rrom our observations, the Huicori (a ceremonial
center near Banari) masks have less hair and more painted decorations,
such as flowers and stars, etc. Also, the Banari ones have the long nar
row pointed ear form, which the Huicori type lacks. In fact, some of
the masks used in the Lower Fuerte River Valley look more like the Banari
mask type than the Banari ones look like the neighboring Huicori type.
This may relate, however, to a strong desire on the parts of Banari and
Huicori Mayos to maintain a separate community identity. This type dif
ference in masks then reflects a socio-political division between neigh
boring communities. Individual masks also vary within the general limits
as outlined above. That is to say, individual variations involve decorative
additions rather than basic changes in the construction of the mask. For
example, several masks were observed with little hats on them. On this
theme, two small Fuerte River masks were observed with a red and a
green baseball cap on top. These masks belonged to members of the same
extended family, so it is likely that they were seen as a pair, one with
the red colored hat and the second with the green. In Banari, one mask
was observed wearing a pair of glasses and another had a deer head deco
rated like that of the deer dancer on the top of his mask. Another mask
had red, white, and green streamers or ribbons hanging from it. At the

216

time of the last Friday procession a week before Good Rriday, we noticed
that numbers of 6apakobam had red, white and green or blue flowers on
their masks. These flowers link to the circles of flowers which appear
this same Friday on the three crosses making up Kalbario, or the last sta
tion of the Way of the Cross. Also, after this procession began, the 6apakobam ran into the church and removed the flowers which had been placed
in front of the images. This particular Rriday, the flowers were red, link
ing to the crucifixion and to the flowers on the masks and the crowns of
flowers on Kalbario.
At this point, several more observations about behavior associ
ated directly with the mask should be considered. We sought a correla
tion between types of behavior and white versus black-colored masks. For
example, each Friday when the lines of Capakobam would run the Way of
the Cross, most lines would consist of both white and black masks. Often,
the white masked 6apakoba would portray the part of a woman or they
would guard the altar from the others. In the special Pilato group and in
the group which runs during the Gloria on Saturday, the 6apakoba members
have white masks. Thus it appeared to us that there was some difference
in the behavior of the white and the black-masked fiapakobam.

However,

when questioned, our Mayo friends would admit to no difference, saying

"they are all the same." The tilting back of the mask is a very common
type of Capakoba behavior. For example, after the running around the Way

of the Cross on the Fridays, after the procession reaches Kalbario on the
Fridays, after the procession returns to the church, and as they run home
after the Friday procession, the fiapakobam tilt their masks back, rest
ing them on their foreheads. Also, after the running around the Way of
the Cross on the Fridays, some remove their masks completely and rest
them right side up against the side of the church. During this time they
keep their huge cloths wrapped around their heads, so they look much
like the caricature of the person who has sustained a head injury and
had his entire head except eyes and nose wrapped in yards of bandages.
No special ritual was observed when the mask is taken off, tilted back,
or put back on again. Of course, as the mask is put on, the end of the
rosary is placed in the mouth, but this goes on behind the head cloth
and thus is not visible. I have no data on feeding the mask or any other
special type of ritual associated with it beyond that which we have al
ready discussed. Besides leaning the masks up against the church, the
masks are also hung upside down from the inside strap to the eaves of
the house across the plaza from the church, where the Pariserom make
their headquarters. For example, after the 6apakoba had run to Mayo
homes pulling down house crosses, I observed them smoking, chatting,
and relaxing and resting around and inside this house. They had taken
off the masks and hung them from the eaves of the house. However,
their head cloths were still wrapped around their heads.

218

The removal of the mask on Saturday morning, however, is very

definitely of important ritual concern. Before going to the ceremony Holy
Saturday morning, I left my truck at the home of our Kabo friend. His
wife said he had already gone and I remarked that I should hurry. She
replied, "Yes, today the 6apakobam take off their masks." This called
to mind the fact that this was the only ceremonial context in which masked
Sapakobam appear at noon. All the other processions in which they appear
occur in the afternoon, generally as the sun is setting or after nightfall.
In this sense, the mask symbolizes late afternoon and the setting of the
sun or night. The 6apakobam are creatures of the night. So it is striking
to see them standing in the noonday sun in two lines in front of the church.
We have discussed the baptism ceremony, the Holy Saturday ceremony;
however, now I wish to relate it to the use of the mask and of head cover
ings. The ceremony takes place around noon, lulakatek. which nicely
links ideas such as ?' Itom

?
Attal 1?0'ola,
the sun, punishes and destroys

through burning, and the Pariserom are being burned up and the imperson
ators through baptism are turned into men. With these ideas being drama
tized in and directly in front of the church, the actual fire upon which the
masks are burned becomes a side issue and takes place almost unnoticed
to one side of the church. After the baptism, and as if an afterthought,
the young men wander over to the fire, flip their masks on it, and wander
off. We must, however, return to their head gear, for even though the

219

masks are burned, they still are wearing a prescribed symbol of fiapakoba
status. Just before the baptism, the first item which the godparents re
move is the huge white cloth which is tightly wrapped around the young
man's head, covering all of his face but the eyes and nose. As they did
this, they tilted back the mask and the young men knelt. Then the god
parents removed the mask and the other items of the fiapakoba status as
described above. As they were completing this, they placed two colored
handkerchiefs, or scarves, over the head of the young men. Until this
time the scarves had been tied around the upper arms of the Pariserom .
Only after all this had been done did the gloria group run three times from
the altar to the church cross. Then the Maestro came by and sprinkled
the water three times onto the bare backs of the young men. After the
baptism, the young men tied the colored handkerchiefs underneath their
chins like a young girl wears a rebozo. Later in the day they simply
placed a hat on top of the scarf. The next day, Easter Sunday, the
young men wore their hats over the scarf on their heads, like a rebozo.
They tied the second handkerchief around their necks so that the knot or
tie came up over their mouths. With this head and face covering they
guarded the sacred way between the church and the Paskola ramada, and
also participated in the meeting of Christ and Mary, and in the following
procession, wearing their hats at all times. In summary, the use of

220

masks and specific head and face coverings provide very important sym
bols of Pilato, 6apakoba, and in general, Parisero statuses.
General Apparatus
In the last part of this section on material apparatus, or symbols
of status, we turn to more general material apparatus which is used in
the BSnari Easter ceremonial. Obviously, it is impossible in terms of
space to describe in any detail all of the additional items which appear
in the Easter ceremonial. Thus, this sub-section will be a brief summary
of the types of additional material symbols occurring in the ceremonial.
In order tojyork our way through the maze of material apparatus besides
that of the Pariserom which is utilized in the Easter ceremonial, it must
be organized into an overall system in a more systematic manner. The
system is based upon symbolic and logical relations between parts, re
lations suggested to us by our Mayo friends. On the other hand, it seems
unlikely that any single Mayo could or would care to organize the data
in this manner, perhaps because the organization presented here attempts
to reveal the symbolic interrelations between items of material apparatus
and thus lays bare parts of the basic cultural structure of the Easter cere
monial and of Mayo ceremonialism in general. In this sense, it will also
be of value in the following section on ritual symbols and their integration.
The system has its root in the various supernatural ^Anfas (worlds) which
are the sources of power in this world. The material apparatus of the deer

221

and Paskola dancers and singers symbolize, or are powerful, because of

their relation to the Huya *Ana, the supernatural fores world. The ma
terial apparatus of the Matafiini, the Maestro, and the Parisero symbolize
the power of the Saints and of Luturia, Heaven. The Maestro's and the
Parisero's symbols of status are additionally powerful because they also
symbolize a relation with the Dead, the ^Espfrltum ^Anfa. The relation
is different for each, however, the Maestro "praying for the Dead" and
the Pariserom in some contexts representing the Dead or Spirits. Through
the directed work of these organizations on the one hand, and through
the integrated use of ceremonial specific sets of material apparatus on
the other, the Mo oro directs the Paskome in preparing and producing the
ceremonial. The production of the ceremonial, the ceremonial work, di
rected through the images to the sources of power both repays past use
of ceremonial power manifest in recovery from illness and releases
power manifest in continued good health and good will and friendly rela
tions between men. At this point, we still lack a very brief description
1) of the symbols of status of the Mata6ini sodality, the Maestro, the
Mo oro, and the Paskome, 2) of the material apparatus which they manipu
late, forming the ceremonial unity, such as the different Ways of the Cross
and the coffin and tomb of Christ, and 3) of the major images, or saints,
forming the focus of ceremonial activity and towards which the ceremonial
labor is directed.

221a

Since our major concerns are not the following sodalities, we

shall lump them together as the Church Sodalities, or the church-related
groups, the Mata&ini Society, the Bahi Mariam (the women who carry the
Image of Mary) the Maestros and Cantoras, the Sacristans, and the
Mo^oro and the Paskome. The Mataftinl Society is of very little impor
tance In the Banari Easter ceremonial, and in fact does not appear until
after the resurrection Saturday morning. Essentially they are replaced
by the Pariserom. Upon our arrival at the church about mid-morning,
they are dancing. Whether they had been dancing since the resurrection
at 3 a.m. we did not know, although this seems logical and likely. After
the gloria and the baptism, while the young men are disposing of their
masks on the fire, the Matafiini Society has begun to dance to the accompa
niment of several violins and guitars. They also dance on Sunday during
the ceremony of the meeting of the arisen Christ and Mary, in the follow
ing procession, and during the following short ceremony of confirmation of
pledges, mandas, for the coming year, and of blessing of the Bahi Mariam
and Bahi Reyesim. This latter ceremony of confirmation and blessing
takes place at the church cross, kurus yo^owe, and is similar to the
placing of the rosaries over the heads of the Pariserom by the godparents,
which took place the preceding day and has already been described in
detail. In these ceremonial contexts, the membership is entirely male,
(although women do dance Mata&ini at other times of the year) and

221b

consists of older men and young boys of ages around six to ten. The sym
bols of status of the Matafiini Society include 1) a colored, often blue,
gourd rattle, which they use to accent the rhythm of the musicians and
carry in their right hand, 2) a wooden wand, often blue, with three white
chicken feather decorations carried in the left hand, and 3) a wire crown
decorated with colored beads, a mirror, and red, white, blue, and green
ribbon streamers. One of the wands had a cross carved in the wooden
base and another a diamond design with small diamonds within the large
one. Also, the MataSini Society members wear a colored scarf over their
heads like the 6apakobam are wearing at this same time. The Matafiini
Society members are dedicated to and dance in honor of the patron saint
of the Banari Church, the Santisima Tineran (Holy Trinity). Thus, they
are intricately linked to the church organization rather than the Pariserom.
In turning to the church group proper and its subdivisions, the
Maestro comes to immediate notice. He is the head of the sacred church
organization. His praying and readings from the litanies in Latin/. Span
ish, and Mayo are a part of all the church services, most processions,
and many of the other Easter ritual contexts. His books provide his most
important symbol of status, and his chanting and giving of commands are
the most notable behaviors associated with his role. Each Maestro has
a woman singer, Cantora, who backs his rituals with the singing of hymns
and the sacred litanies. The Cantora and the Maestro open each of the

222

Friday processions with a hymn and a short service and continue their
singing and reading at each of the stations of Kalbario. In these proces
sions , the. Maestro carries a black rosary like the one which the image of
Mary also carries. This provides one of the numerous links between the
Maestro, Mary (^Itom ^Aye, Our Mother) and the Church, which is often
conceived of as Our Mother, ^Itom ^Aye. Also, in these Friday processions, the Maestro walks with Mary,

Itom 'Aye, rather than with the

Crucifix, ^Itom ^Atai, Our Father. Perhpas the two most important ser
vices which the Maestro conducts are the funeral mass, misa, for the
crucified Christ and the baptism of the Pariserom. While in the proces
sions he is much like another participant; however, in these two rituals,
which actually are the climax of the ceremonial, he acts as the key per
former around which all others flow. His key role in the mass will be
described in following sections and in preceding sections we have men
tioned his role In the baptism. Several symbols of his status in the bap
tism should be recalled, however. At this point, he is wearing a head
covering. It involves a light cloth wrapped tightly around the head,
somewhat like a turban but not nearly as thick. Also, he is holding the
bowl with the water and the mesquite twig, which is just beginning to
flower.

With these sacred items, symbolic of his status, he performs

the very important duty of baptizing the Pariserom, of making them into
men.

223

The Maestro also has an assistant called the Sacristan. The key
duty of the role of Sacristan involves taking care of the church and the
images. He holds the key to the church and makes sure it is locked or
open and in proper order before a ceremony. The main symbol of his status,
as strange as this may seem, are the church bells. He is the one who
climbs the six foot high platform and rings the bells before a procession,
when the procession leaves the church, and when it returns to the church.
During Holy Week, in addition to the above, he also chimes them, as
others set off firecrackers, during the Gloria and the baptism around noon
on Saturday, and during the resurrection at 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
During the mass for the dead Jesus the Sacristan substitutes a small
wooden clapper, matraka, for the large bells. This was explained to be
necessary because the bell is the voice of the archangel and therefore
hurts the ears of the Capakobam. They insist that the bell is. tied with
a cloth during this time when they have successfully sent Christ to the
world of the Dead. In fact, some of the fiapakobam pantomime this during
the Friday processions. When the Sacristan rings the bells, they hold
their hands over the ears of their masks and crouch in apparent pain.
The matraka, one of the distinctively Sacristan symbols, is a fifteen inch
piece of wood cut into the shape of a paddle. In the paddle part are
three holes with three wooden balls attached. When the matraka is
shaken, the balls rattle against the paddle, making an eerie click-clacking

224

sound. Twice during the mass of the Dead, the Sacristan marched three
times around inside the church click-clacking his matraka. An incense
holder would also appear to be an additional symbol of the status of
Sacristan. The holder is silver, ball shaped, between a baseball and
Softball in size, and hangs from three chains. Just before and during the
?
late procession on Thursday, after the "running" of the ? O'ola,
the
Sacristan was observed incensing the church and carrying the smoking
incense holder in the procession. Also, he carried it in the two proces
sions after the crucifixion. The incense smelled like burning wood and
was likely copal. Thus, the Sacristan with his set of assistant Sacris
tans, plays an important role in the ceremonial, a role symbolized espe
cially by the bells, the matraka, and the incense holder.
Also part of the Church groups are the little children, the little
angels who represent the Bahi Mariam (three Marias) and the Bahi Reyesim,
the Three Kings. The little children with their godmothers, madrinas, take
part in the Rriday processions and many of the ceremonies of Easter Week.
Their symbols of status cure their light colored clothing, often white
dresses, though not always, and their flower crowns. Also, they carry
a saucer wrapped in a handkerchief and filled with flower petals which
they throw at specific points in the procession. The madrinas, god
mothers, watch over the children, weave the crowns of flowers, and tear

225

up the flowers for the child's saucer and for a large blue cloth which is
carried by one of the Paskome in the procession.
Also, there are other women's organizations or groups which play
important roles within the Easter ceremonial. These groups manipulate
material apparatus which symbolize their status. The image of Mary is
carried in the processions and cared for by a set of women. These women
often wear black. They present flower offerings to the images each Fri
day of Lent and during Holy Week, provide a monotone response to the
Maestro's services at the stations of the cross during the procession each
Friday, and after the Friday processions take the crowns from the little
angels and rush them to the altar, leaving them on the right hand front
side. However, they have no outstanding symbols of status except per
haps the flowers they use to decorate the coffin of ?Itom ^AiSai. Formally,
they are a part of the Church organization.
The last group belonging to the Church organization which we con
sider is that of the Paskome or Pasko Personasim. In order of rank, this
groups includes four Paresim, four ?'Alparesim, and four ?'Alawasim. The
symbol of Paresim status is a broad pink waistband with an embroidered
cross on it and what appears to be a very small pillow within it. The
small pillow gives the illusion that the Pares has a fat stomach. The
Alpares carries the large red, gold, and white flag of the Church Saint,
the Santisima Tiniran, which provides the unique symbol of the ^Alpares

226

status. Also, in the Friday processions, a Paskome, identified as neither

an ^Alawasin nor a Pares, and therefore likely an ^Alpares, carried a
three to four foot long pole decorated with red, gold, and white ribbons
called a liston. Also, another carried one with red, white, and blue
ribbons. The liston is held in the right hand with the cross of the ^Alpares'
rosary between the stick and the hand. When they cross themselves, they
use the liston and the right hand together. A complication exists here
which we did not recognize the importance of until after the Easter season.
This is the presence of two groups of Paskome, that of Bcinari, of the
Santisima Tiniran, with the colors red, gold, and white, and that of
Homecarit, of the Santa Kurus (Holy Cross), with the colors red, white,
and blue. The second ^Alpares with the red, white, and blue liston,
therefore, is of the Santa Kuruh from Homecarit and not a Banari Paskome.
In summary, the flags, red, white and gold for Banari, and red, white,
and blue for Homecarit, and listones are the key symbols of ^Alpares
status, although the flags play a very minor role in the Easter ceremonial,
appearing only for the Friday procession exercises (ejerclclo), for the
ceremony of welcome and leave taking involving only the two sets of
Paskome, and for the ceremonies on Easter Sunday.
o
As a symbol of status, the Alawasim wear a fox tail around their
waists. Attached to the tails are ribbon streamers of red, gold, and black
(alternating with white) or red, green, and white for Banari and red, white

Ill
and blue for Homecarlt. Three

Alawaslm guard the way crosses during

the Friday Processions. Their fox tails and rosaries have streamers of
red, green, and white ribbon and their liston, which they rest on the top
of the cross and hold in their left hand, have ribbons of red, gold, and
black colors. In their right hand, they hold a six foot long mesquite
switch used to keep the fiapakobam away from the cross. The sixth Fri
day procession, which is the last Friday procession (ultimo konti), the
mesquite switch Is exchanged for a green leaved branch of ^abaso (cottonwood) most likely symbolizing the shift from the chase of Jesus in the
o
mesquite to his crucifixion in the cottonwoods. Another Alawasin car
ries the blue cloth full of flower petals in her right hand and a mat
(hipehtam) in her left, during the Friday processions. When the proces
sion stops at a station of the cross, she puts down the mat and spreads .
the flowers before the cross. Also, at Kalbario, the Paskome place two
sticks in the Y-slots of the four supports standing just in front of Kal
bario (see Fig. 2),,and a mat across the space between the sticks form
ing a platform. The image of Mary is placed upon the mat facing the
church with the crucifix held at her right by a boy with a turban type of
head covering; perhaps he represents one of the Bahi Reyesim. During
the procession, the crucifix is generally carried by one of the Paskome,
and Mary, of course, by the altar women mentioned above.

228

The decorated rosary and head covering of the turban type provide
symbols of Paskome status. All the Paskome in ceremonial context wear
a scarf wrapped around their heads like a turban. These are colored and
the colors change as the ceremonial progresses. The Paskome also carry
rosaries decorated with colored ribbons: red, white and blue for Homecarit and red, gold, alternating with green and black, alternating with
white for Banari. The Paskome use the beads during the longer services
within the church. This ritual was especailly observed during the long
prayers before the ceremony of extinguishing the candles of Tinieblas.
First, the rosary is removed from the neck and the cross at the end held
in the right hand between the thumb, which is on top, and the forefinger
underneath. The rest of the rosary is held at the proper place on the
string by the left hand. After each prayer, a section of beads, four or
five in number, and a colored ribbon or tassel is moved. In summary,
the Paskome Jointly with the Pariserom are responsible for the Banari
Easter ceremonial. The former appear in nearly all the ritual contexts
during Lent and outside of Lent are even more important. Their symbols
of status include the colored waistband of the Pares, the large church
o
flag of the Alpares, and the decorated foxtail worn hanging from a
O
pelt waistband of the 'Alawasin, as well as the liston, the scarf head
covering, and the rosary decorated with colored ribbons of the Paskome
in general.

229

One last key status, the Mo^oro, must be mentioned as he is the

ritual advisor and director of the Paskome. He provides the main point
of integration between the Church organization proper and the Paskome.
His symbols of status are rather vague. He may or may not wear a head
covering or a scarf over his mouth in ceremonial contexts. With a scarf
over his mouth he accompanies the three ^Alawasim who guard the stations
of the cross during the Friday processions to their individual stations,
reads a short service at each station, and then returns to the church.
The drum which he plays during the ejercicio provides one of his exclu
sive symbols of status. It is rather like the Parisero Tampalero's drum,
and twelve to fifteen inches deep rather than shallow like the drums of
the Paskola musician and the 6apakobam. However, the Mo^oro's drum,
like the large church flag, appears very seldomly in the Easter ceremonial.
o
Thus, the chief role of the Mo oro is to hand out material apparatus to
the proper Paskome and make sure that all paskome know where to appear
and how to act in the evolving ritual contexts of each ceremonial in which
they appear.
At this point, there remains additional material apparatus which
is of key import in the ceremonial, but which we have not yet discussed
as symbolic of a status within any specific group or sodality acting
within a ceremonial context during Lent. The utilization of the symbols
of status or dramatization takes place in a prepared and guarded area

230

which therefore is part of the material apparatus and is symbolic of the

activities taking place within the sacred area. During Lent, three sacred
areas are prepared and protected, Kalbario batwefii (Calvary going towards
the river) (see Fig. 2), konti bo^o teopopo dikola (the way around the
O
church) (see Fig. 3), and loria ultima (the last Gloria), or sewateri.
The first Calvary, Kalbario batwedi, as its name suggests, runs in an al
most straight line towards the river. This sacred way consists of four
teen stations of the cross, each with one wooden cross, except number
fourteen, which has three crosses and is most often referred to as the
Kalbario. With the exception of the fourteenth station where the crosses
cure larger, the wooden crosses are not over three or four feet tall and
consist of bare mesquite branches or sticks of about the size and shape
of large fruit-crate lumber. The crosses at the fourteenth station are
constructed of lumber about one inch by two inches or slightly larger in
size. The center cross approaches five feet in height and the two out
side ones probably approach four feet. They are placed in a straight
line and face the church. Directly in front of them are the four severalfoot-high Y-shaped supports for the mat, upon which the image of Mary
is placed (see Fig. 2). Although this is not exact, I was told that the
first nine crosses were 350 units of measurement apart, whereas the
last four or five are only 90 units apart. This symbolizes the idea that
"Christ got tired here at the end; that is why they are closer together."
Late each Friday morning the Paskome prepare this Kalbario by sweeping

231

the entire bo o (way or road) from the church to the Kalbario at the end
and by decorating the crosses with greenery, especially Kalbario, which
is elaborately decorated with crowns of red, white, and blue flowers and
green leaves, especially on the sixth Friday of Lent. When the Capakobam
arrive, they do the kontl (run around this Way of the Cross) three times
on this Kalbario. Later In the afternoon the procession takes place on
the Kalbario with a great deal of ritual focusing upon the fourteen stations
of this Way of the Cross. On the sixth Friday, Kalbario is decorated
with the three crowns of red, white, and blue flowers and green leaves,
and after the service, all the crosses are removed by the Paskome and
carried back to the church. The part of the ceremony enacted on konti
bo^o batweSi is now complete and the sacred way has been dismantled
until the following year.
By Thursday of Holy Week, a Second Way of the Cross or bo^o
O
(road) has been constructed by the Pariserom, kontl bo o tiopopo cikola.
This sacred way consists of eight bowers constructed over a wooden cross
and a large bower over a cross Just to the right side of the front door of
the church, teopo, and around "the other Banari," the Campo Santo
(cemetery) (see Fig. 3). Each consists of a plain wooden cross made of
lumber and between three to four feet in height. Over the cross are bent
three green branches of hu^upa, mesquite forming a bower with a closed
back and open face. The crosses and the open side of the bowers all

232

face toward the center of the circle, the church. The bower near the door
of the church is identical in structure and differs only in the fact that it
is larger. This bower and the cross within face in the direction of the
church door. This konti bo^o, or sacred way, is the material context,
the stage, of four processions: the running of the ^O^ola, the proces
sion taking place late that night (Thursday) for Mary, the procession
Just after the Crucifixion, and the one late Friday night, the meeting of
Christ and Mary. During the running of the ?O ?'ola the bowers shield
the old man from the 6apakobam. In the symbolic woods he is safe.
The bowers and crosses are foci of ritual in the procession for Mary late
Thursday night. Proceeding around the sacred way in a counter-clock
wise direction, .the procession stops for a short service at each of the
eight bowers. The bowers also provide stopping points for short services
during the procession on Friday night after the crucifixion. This procession, which is split with the Crucifix group (?Itom ?Aai, Our Father)
moving around in a counter-clockwise direction and the Mary group (^Itom
''Aye, Our Mother), moving clockwise, takes place on this same sacred
area, however, with no services at the bowers. The two groups meet,
with the traditional bowing of the images to each other, in a large vacant
o?
?
9
area behind the church. The 'Itom 'Aye group joins the Itom fAfcai
one, and all return to the church around the sacred way in a counter
clockwise direction. By Saturday morning, the bowers and crosses of

233

this sacred way have been removed. It would seem likely, however, that
they are not removed until after the resurrection early, around 3 or 4 a.m.,
Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning the ritual, the baptism and the Gloria, takes
place in the area between the church cross and bells and the church altar.
This area, especially the section between the bells and cross and the
church, is called the tebat by Mayos. It is cleaned, the church cross is
set up and decorated with flowers (flowered), and the bells are untied;
however, no other special preparation which we observed occurs.
On Easter Sunday Morning, however, a special way for loria ultima
is prepared by the Pariserom. This area, called the sewateri, between
the front door of the church and the paskola ramada is swept clean and
<J)
lined with palms and aba so (cottonwood) leaves and twigs. During
the morning the Pariserom guard this sacred area making sure nobody
walks, rides a horse, or drives a vehicle upon it. Late Sunday morning
the final Gloria takes place, and from this the sacred way receives its
name, loria ultima (the final Gloria). This Gloria symbolizes the return
of Christ from the land of the dead and the reunion of Christ and Mary.
This sacred way is closely identical in form to the way on which visiting
Saints are greeted by the Banari church images and accompanied into the
church. In summary, the preceding three sacred ways provide the material

234

contexts and the boundaries, the stage, on which a great deal of the
ritual of the Banari Easter ceremonial takes place.
One of the very important statuses and roles which we have not
yet adequately discussed is that of the ^O^ola, the old man who symbolizes Christ. As a symbol of status the ?' O'? ola wears a crown of greenery
around his head, similar to those now around many of the Mayos' house
crosses, tebatpo kurusim, and to those which had been placed on the three
crosses of Kalbario the preceding Friday. The ^O^ola also wears a red
scarf around his neck, a white long sleeved shirt, a white kilt which
reaches beneath his knees, pants rolled up above the bottom of the kilt,
and sandals. He holds a plain wooden staff in his hand and wears two
strings with tassels attached around his waist. The colors of the tassels
from his waist down on either side of his body are green, red, green.
Also around his waist he has a long rope (wikosa) which is decorated
with red tassels and often is held by Capakobam. With the ^O^ola in
the limosna procession were three small boys with green crowns of leaves
around their heads. One had a plate for the limosna. There were several
madrinas of the ?O ?'ola, one carrying a water gourd to quench his thirst.
Of course, there were the Pariseros as described previously. The next
9 o
appearance of the ' O ola takes place at Tinieblas when the old man is
brought to the church by the Parisero. The ? O ?ola and two boys wearing
green crowns sat directly in front of the altar. The old man had his face
half-covered with a red scarf and held his staff in front of himself.

235

The "running" of the ^O^ola has already been described in some

detail, so that all that is necessary at this point is the description of
several material items. At each of the bowers, he is given two gourd
containers of water from which to drink. The first Seraphina gives him
one painted green and the second one painted green and white. The
water gourd is a traditional symbol of some importance to Mayos. Some
of the church images carry water gourds. In fact, our recognition of
two small gourds hanging in a Mayo's home as those used by the ^O^ola
very deeply moved the young man, who then replied that those were indeed the gourds used by the ? O ? ola when the Pariserom had the old
man by the wikosa. Thus, the use of the gourds is a very important sym
bol of and important ritual in the "running."
The crown of greenery around the head of the ?0?ola also is of
great symbolic importance. When asked why the house crosses, tebatpo
kurus, have crowns of greenery and flowers, a Kabo answered, pointing
to his house cross. "That [the cross] is the ^O^ola, ^Itom ^Aifcai. It
is because the Pariserom have the old man and the old man has greenery
around his head. They are going to throw down (tattanake) the ^O^ola
and we everywhere will throw down (tattanake) all the house crosses.11
Thus, the house cross is an important part of the material apparatus of
the Easter ceremonial. The house cross is generally constructed of lumber .
running from one inch by two inches to two inches by four inches and

236

stands anywhere from two to five feet in height. A house cross is a must
during two rituals, those of the Lenten season and of a funeral, and is
important during many types of home ceremonies. For example, during
Lent, house crosses appeared in many house patios where they were not
formerly observed and after Lent they again disappeared. Late Thursday
the homeowner sets out a small wooden box about one-fourth the size of
an orange crate and places four hu^upa (mesquite) branches into the
ground. The branches form the four corners of a square whose sides are
perpendicular to the front of the house. Then, he ties together the ends
of the two branches closest to the house and the two furthest from the
house. This forms two arches, one nearer the house and the second
further away. When the Pariserom come to pull up the cross, they place
the box over the hole in the ground and place the cross on the box face
up with the bottom pointing toward the house. The church cross also
is knocked down by the Pariserom and is placed on the bell stand with
no box or arches constructed over its

hole. Within the church, the

Santa Kurus (Holy Cross) is set down. Called ^Itom ^A&ai, it is an image
of a cross heavily decorated with red, white, and blue flowers and ribbons
and with a palm arch extending from the tip of one of the arms of the
cross to the tip of the other. Also within the church, a large bower is
constructed which symbolizes a tomb. Several large cans of dirt placed
in a circle provide the base for long branches covered with leaves. This

237

bower houses the crucifixes and the young boys when the Pilato strikes
into the bower with his sword symbolically crucifying Christ. Beside
the bower, a tomb (tumba) has been made of a carefully shaped and
smoothed pile of earth surrounding a beautifully decorated coffin. This
rectangular tomb consists of four long piles of earth six to eight inches
deep and about a foot broad at the base. Earlier Friday afternoon the
O
coffin, called 'urna, an urn, is decorated. It is painted white, has a
solid wooden bottom and a lattice work wooden top, and is between five
and six feet long, two to three feet wide and around two feet high. Except
during this time, the ''urna hangs in the small room beside the altar where
the images are kept. Outside of the Lenten season, when Pariseros come
to the church to pray, they make a special stop in front of the coffin in
order to meditate, pray, and cross themselves. The Mo 2 oro directs
several Paskome and numerous mestizo women in the cutting and tying of
large flowers on the lattice work. There are large metal tubs of flowers
from which the women are selecting the decorations for the coffin. Also,
colored beads, especially silver, are strung on the lattice work. When
the coffin is decorated, it is placed within the tomb. At this time,
Paskome with long cane whips guard the tomb from the dapakobam. After
the crucifixion, the images of Christ are placed on a cloth "bed" in the
urna, coffin, and the Maestro says the mass of the dead, the misa.
One last item, the candle, plays an important part in the Easter ceremonial

238

and Integrates nicely within this complex of items we are now discussing.
Candles are distinguished into at least two classes, a long one of some
twelve inches and a shorter type. Candles are especially important in
several ritual contexts. The evening of Tinieblas, twelve candles sitting
in small cans partly filled with dirt are lined across the front of the altar.
These are the ones which are extinguished by the Sacristans. After the
crucifixion, candles become almost mandatory for the people walking in
the procession. Many people have made promises and come to the church
with one or several candles, some large and some small. The fire origi
nates from the church and spreads from one person to this neighbors. The
procession which follows is one of the most deeply touching ones of the
weeks of Lent. After the ceremony is over Friday evening, the Mayos
take their candles home where they place them to burn the remainder
of the night beside the pulled-up house crosses. Both during the time
of the crucifixion and during the last Friday procession when Kalbario is
removed, the church altar is decorated with four large white candles and
six tall bases of sunnl (cane). These last several pages may have
appeared as a hodge-podge of material apparatus. One additional bit of
information fuses it all into a ritual symbol. This is the concept of
tumba, tomb. All these itemsthe cane, the candles, the bowers over
the house cross, the bowers of the way on which the ?4O ? ola runs, and
o
the 1urna (coffin)all these are part of the tomb and more generally

239

part of the death ritual. At this point we must defer additional discussion
to the section on ritual symbols; however, the presentation of these addi
tional material apparatus has been in accord with what I take to be a key
ritual symbol as well as with the cultural structure of the Easter ceremonial.
In accord with the cultural structure of Mayo ceremonialism and
especially of the Easter ceremonial, we have discussed the material ap
paratus of the social units, as well as that of the symbolic context, the
funeral ritual as exemplified in the case of the death of Christ. This en
tire set of material apparatus, as well as the ceremonial labor involved
in its manipulation, receives its import and reason for existence through
its relation to a set of sacred images symbolizing superriturals and to
the Mayo dead, the ^Espiritum ^Ania (the Spirit World).
In concluding this section on material apparatus, we turn to a
discussion of the key images of the Banari Easter ceremonial. The most
important images are the large and small Crucifixes, (^Itom ^Aifiai ^Usi,
?
?
Christ), Mary ( Itom Aye, Our Mother), and San Juan (Saint John).
Mary and the two Crucifixes are the images carried in all the Friday
o
processions. A cloth shade, he eka, with two black crosses inside
and flowers in the cloth on top is often held above the heads of the images
by four long wooden poles when they are outside of the church. The large
crucifix with an image of Jesus, which is nearly life size and quite real
istic in portrayal, is carried in only the first and sixth Friday processions.

240

The crucifix also carries a wooden plaque with the letters INRI on the top
above Jesus' head. The image is dressed in a red loin cloth, and during
these processions a water gourd, ^ar6kosl. hangs from the cross bar.
During the weeks when ^Itom ^Afiai ^Usi (Jesus) visits individual family
homes, when he is being rested by the family, we were told that one
should take him in, adore him, cross one's self and say prayers.
In the Friday processions the green crown of thorns around Jesus'
head is adjusted once between one of the first few stations. It is said
that when the crown is put on the image bleeds real blood. Also on the
last procession during the return to the church between the first and
second station, an old man took the large crucifix and canried it some
distance. Since it is very heavy, two younger men helped stabilize it
by placing long sticks with Y-shaped ends up against the cross bar of
the crucifix. These sticks were like the ones used to hold up the rope
which was around the waist of the ? O?f ola during the "running. " The
small crucifix, which is about fifteen inches tall, is carried in all the
Friday processions except the first Friday, upon which the data is lacking.
The small crucifix is often carried with a white cloth over all of it except
Christ's head, which protrudes through a hole in the cloth. The image of
Mary, which is about fifteen inches high and is a figure in the round and
not a picture, is carried in all the Friday processions by the group of
women who are especially promised to her. Her dress colors and the

241

colors of the flowers which she carries change with the different Fridays.
For the specific color combinations see the following section on activities.
Also, the image of Mary is carried in most of the Holy Week processions
except the "running" of the ? O ? ola. For Tinieblas, both the crucifixes
and Mary are shrouded in purple cloths, whereas the other images are in
white, Before the crucifixion on Good Friday, both the crucifixes are
placed in the green bower with the symbolic representatives of the Bahi
Reye sim. After the Pilato symbolically stabs Jesus, both the images are
removed from the crosses and the small cross strapped to the large at the
point where the cross bar crosses the vertical member of the large cross.
The large Image, whose arms fold down along side its body, and the
o
small image are placed in the coffin, ' urna, and soon the mass of the
dead begins. The two crosses remain standing just where they were until
they are used in the procession which takes place after the mass is over.
After the mass, the crosses as well as the coffin are carried in the pro
cession to the eight bowered stations around the church. The images of
Christ within the coffin leave the church with their heads pointed in the
direction of the motion of the procession. After this candle procession,
there is a late procession in which one-half of the procession carrying
or
o
Itom Aai, the two crucifixes only, goes around in a counter-clockwise
direction and the other half with ?Itom ^Aye, Mary, goes in a clockwise
direction. Half way around, ^Itom ^Aifiai meets ?Itom ^Aye and the two

242

images are brought nflarwogSa tine procession crowd until they are directly op
posite each other. Tfaani tt&ey are bowed ideally three times; however, the
actual bowing involves dipping the images in unison. Since it is dark and
the image bearers are mat always together, the dipping is wobbly and not
precise. However, evtayome assured us that the images bowed three
times.
Of all the processions off the Lenten season, the meeting of Christ
and Mary on Easter Sunday Unas one of the most complex display of images
and is structurally similar to the greeting processions of other Mayo
ceremonials, far example, tfine one in honor of the patron saint, Santisima
Tiniran. About midmanaimg am Easter Sunday, a small unpainted wooden
table of about three Seeft long by two feet wide is placed in the center of
the church in front of the altar, la the center of the table, the Mo oro
places the four Mack banters of the Pilatom with the cloth part pointing
to the front of the KaMe. Om the front two quarters of the table (quarters
furthest from the altar) are placed the black head coverings of the Pilatom.
The small crucifix is ireaMwed from the center of the altar and placed on
the back left-hand quarter off the table facing out of the church. The large
crucifix remains sttamdiJiBg directly in front of the altar with its base on the
ground and its back irestiniig against the altar. Mary also remains on the
worshippers' rlght-laamd side of the altar. She is dressed in white and
carries a small Hag Willi a red cross and white ground. San Juan is

243

placed in the remaining square on the table to Christ's right. San Juan,
an image in the round, is around fifteen inches tall, dressed in red, and
wears a round topped straw hat. He carries several little water gourds,
arok6sim, and a little flag identical with Mary's except it has a white
cross with a red ground. The Matatfinim dance up to the table and bow
before it. Later, just before the procession, they accompany it part way
to the Paskola ramada, where the Pariserom have been gathering. Soon
a procession with Mary, the Tiniran Paskome, and the Matadinim leaves
the church and a second procession with the Pariserom, a Maestro, the
Santa Kuru Paskome, and San Juan and the crucifix leaves the Paskola
ramada. They come almost together and stop. A boy takes San Juan
and runs three times to Mary and back. When he runs flowers are thrown.
When he arrives to Mary, a man takes San Juan and Mary and Juan are
bowed three times. On the first run back to Christ, Mary gives Juan
some greenery to carry. On the last run to Mary, he carries two gourds
over his right hand. He returns to Christ and the two processions come
together amongst much flower throwing and egg shell cracking. At this
time, we were told, Christ has the water gourds,

arokosim. Soon the

procession returns to the church.

In summary of this section on material apparatus, we have
attempted to gain additional insight into the social and cultural structure
of the BSnari Easter ceremonial through a careful examination of the arti
facts used in the ceremonial. First, we examined the symbols of status

244

of the Parisero sodality, such as the banner and horsemanship of the

Pilato, the sword of the Kapitan, the whip and machete of the Kabo, the
flute and drum of the Flautero and the Tampalero, and the masks and dress
of the Capakoba. The use of these items is restricted to persons within
the role which the item symbolizes. Additional items which are symbolic
of membership within the general sodality, such as sandals, a special
patron saint and rosary, and special types of head coverings, were ex
amined. In the last part, other more general Easter material apparatus
were considered and related to the underlying structure of the ceremonial.
The Activities
Introduction
To this point, we have discussed 1) the charter or the set of
myths defining the goal of the Banari Easter ceremonial, 2) the social
structure or set of statuses which is the blueprint for the integration of
individuals, 3) the norms or behavioral definitions of the roles, which are
the manifestation of the statuses, and 4) the material apparatus or the
symbol system of status which provides the foci or material nodes of
the norms. Now we turn to a structural description of the integration of
the above four aspects or parameters into the set of activities which
form the ceremonial. The four parameters only make sense in terms of

245

this system of activities within which they exist, like social usages,
which have meaning only because they exist within a specific social
system.
The concept, event system (Bohannan 1963:359) will prove useful
in emphasizing the dynamic quality of activities. Activities take place
through time and in this sense are systems of interrelated events. In
other words, the Easter ceremonial can be conceived of as an activity.
However, on closer inspection, it includes among other ritual contexts
a number of processions, each of which is a complete unit within itself,
an activity. Each procession includes numerous activities which are
also in some sense units within themselves, for example, 5apakoba
burlesquing of a deer dance, or the service at Kalbario. The Easter cere
monial therefore consists of an activity consisting of activities each of
which consists of activities and so on.
In order to structure rather complex ritual behavior of this nature,
Kathrine French (1955:129) suggests the concept of "segment." "A segment
is a unit of ceremonial activity which has, as a unit, overt or manifest
function(s) in the ceremony, and which itself has internal functional
and behavioral organization. " On one hand ceremonies consist of, are
built of, segments, while on the other the same segment can exist within
numerous different ceremonial contexts or environments. "Segments
are structural units of the culture. They have internal coherence, but
may occur in a variety of environments" (French 1955:18). Her concept

246

of segment is too deeply rooted within a culture trait approach to be useful

in an analysis of a ceremonial as a set of activities. However, her idea
that a ceremonial has a structure in which semi-autonomous units reappear
in different ceremonial activities is extremely useful. We see these units
as network of personnel, rather than sets of culture traits. Another ex
tremely interesting suggestion which French makes is the idea that these
segments may be manipulated by innovators, thus recombining them into
new ceremonies. She notes eight different segmental processes, 1)
change in order of segments, 2) addition of segments, 3) subtraction of
segments, 4) two ceremonies merged through the sharing of a key segment,
5) segments abandoned, 6) segments reintroduced, 7) segments borrowed
from another culture, and 8) new ceremonies created out of the reorgani
zation of present segments. Without a doubt, some of these processes
are at work in creating the important local differences which characterize
Cahitan Easter ceremonials. However, I believe the basic structure, the
"blueprint, " of the Banari Easter ceremonial to be more rigid than those
of the ceremonies which French observed on the Warm Springs Reservation.
Changes do take place in the Easter ceremonial; however, the acceptable
alternative segments available at any one point in the ceremonial must be
quite small.
The concept of an activity assumes a set of integrated events.
Thus, the concept of event system more nearly approximates the basic

behavioral units of the ceremonial than does that of an activity or segment.

In attempting to analyze the structure of a ceremonial, the most useful
method is to proceed from event to event system to activity and finally
to activity system or ceremonial. In this way, we will be able to con
struct a blueprint for the production of the Banari Easter ceremonial.
Ideally, if we are correct, our blueprint should be identical with a pre
diction model carried in the head of an informed Mayo. As Bohannan
(1963:359) says concerning the event system,

. .in order to achieve

the desired ends, actors must be able to predict, within certain limits,
the range of events that will normally follow other events. Therefore,
acts must recur and must follow one another in an order that is substantially
known to all. " Modern ethnographies are attempting to accomplish this
type of end: "we are trying to achieve a description that allows us to
replicate, as much as possible, the expectations of our subjects" (Keesing 1967:14). Our description will be based upon events integrated into
event systems which make up the Easter ceremonial conceived of as an
activity.
The event itself is a network of interrelations existing in a short
interval of time between role playing individuals. Edward Jay (1964:138)
nicely distinguishes between a network and an activity field.
I would like to reserve the term "field" to indicate
such an egocentric system (the social space around each indi
vidual or social group). A field may be delineated by social,

248

economic, political or other type of relationships.... an

activity field of any given individual or group consists of
all the units with which that individual or group maintains a
certain type of relationship. The boundaries of such a field
are meaningful only with reference to the individual or group
under consideration. ...
A network, on the other hand, is defined as the totality
of all the units connected by a certain type of relationship. A
network has definite boundaries and is not egocentric. It sub
sumes all the activity fields of the constituent units; or to turn
this around, the activity field of each unit encompasses some
portion of the total network. . . . The units of the network
are not necessarily equivalent. Some may be larger and
more complex than others.
The network concept obviously will prove useful. Within the Easter cere
monial the type of relationship which connects the units is of the same
type, a ritual relationship. Each event within the ceremonial has defi
nite boundaries in social and physical space and is sociocentric, rather
than egocentric. In other words, at this level of analysis, the network
of a single event is the same for all participants and does not depend
upon the role which the individual is playing. The activity field of
each participant depends upon his specific status and role and differs
for each individual position within the event. In the sections on per
sonnel and norms, we analyzed these differing activity fields. Thus, at
this point, the concept of network is the one we are seeking. Also, the
nonequivalence of network units proves useful in delineating the struc
ture of events, because often different types of units are related in a
ritual context. A single Capakoba may burlesque the service being carried
out by members of the procession at a station of the cross. Here an

249

individual is related to a combination of several social units, the

Maestro, Cantoras, Bahi Mariam, Bahi Reyesim, etc. In summary, the
Easter ceremonial as an activity consists of numerous activities subdi
vided into event systems. Event systems are formed of sets of events
integrated through time. In turn, each event is a network of ritually re
lated units, which may or may not be equivalent.
Something must also be said about the relationship between units,
the relationship which we have termed ritual. Bohannan (1963:375) also
applies the term "ritual" to ceremonial event systems. Besides the spe
cific relations such as respect and authority, which we have already dis
cussed, Leach (1965:10-11) believes he has isolated a more general rela
tionship which he calls ritual. "Ritual, I assert, 'serves to express the
individual's status as a social person in the structural system in which
he find himself for the time being.'" The network and the ritual relations
within it serve to communicate the social structure to the participants
and to the anthropologist. They are symbolic statements which say
"something about the Individuals involved in the action" (Leach 1965: 13).
The networks and event systems are statements in action about the social
structure of the ceremonial and of Mayo society in general. Whereas in
the following section, Ritual Symbols, we are concerned with symbolic
statements about the cultural structure of the ceremonial and of Mayo
culture in general. Leach (1965:15) nicely summarizes our aim in

250

presenting the networks, event systems, and activities of the Banari .Easter
ceremonial in an analytical form.
Ritual in its cultural context is a pattern of symbols;
the words into which I interpret it are another pattern of sym
bols composed largely of technical terms devised by anthropolo
gists. . . . The two symbol systems have something in common,
namely a common structure. In the same way, a page of music
and its musical performance have a common structure. This is
what I mean when I say that ritual makes explicit the social
structure.
The structure which is symbolized in ritual is the sys
tem of socially approved "proper" relations between individuals
and groups.
fiapakoba ritual appears to contradict this last statement; however, when
one recalls that ultimately the Pariserom are destroyed, it becomes ap
parent that "proper" relations are being suggested and communicated
through masked burlesquing behavior. We shall return to this specific
point in the analysis of the enculturating function of masks and 6apakoba
behavior. In summary, we are suggesting that ritual relations conceived
of as action and classified in terms of networks, event systems, and
activities symbolize the social structure which makes possible the
actualization of the Easter ceremonial, as well as Mayo ceremonialism
and culture in general. In the following section, Ritual Symbols, we
examine ritual in its symbolic aspect. In this case, ritual and focal
nodes of ritual, ritual symbols, symbolize not the social structure but
the cultural structure of the ceremonial.

251

The List of Activities

The complete list of Lenten activities with explanatory comments
as given to us as a unit by a Kabo and verified in numerous conversations
with other Mayos.
La Cuaresma Son Siete Vlernes de kontl. Lent is seven Fridays of
processions.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. (La Cuaresma que es el
primer dia, el dla Mlercoles de ceniza.) Recall that the Paskome go to
the church in Camalobo where the Priest places the ash cross on their
foreheads. Here the network is between the Priest and the Paskome. The
other Mayos are only included within the network in a symbolic fashion
in that the Paskome are acting in behalf of the community. The ritual re
lation is one of the dominance and power of the Priest over the recipient
Paskome. Napo kuruhuwa (one is crossed by ashes), nicely conveys the
passive Mayo part in the ritual.
Also recall that an activity, although not mentioned by Mayos as
an activity, of Lent had already taken place. There had been a meeting
and initiation of the new Parlserom. The meeting was observed the Sun
day preceding Lent and the initiation very likely involves a ritual at the
ocean, which is only a few miles from Banari.
Primer kontlwa, the first Rriday procession (konti).
Segundo kontl, the second Rlday procession (kontl).

252

Tercer kontl, the third Friday procession (konti), was also called
the Rriday of Lazarus (Lazaro) by several informants and the Friday of
Saint Joseph (San Jose) by one. From the data, it seems very likely that
this is the Friday of Lazaro and that San Jose is the following Friday.
Especially on this Friday of Lazaro, one is expected to attend the pro
cession in the area in which he lives and where he will be expected to
continue to attend ceremonies for the remainder of the year. Also, from
this Friday through the fifth Friday, the image of Christ crucified is
being taken to Mayo homes within the area of the church. At this time
one is expected to take the image into his home and adore it and to give
a small contribution, limosna, for the Easter Week ceremonies. At some
homes, there cire more elaborate ceremonies and the image remains over
night. These are known as "resting Christ. " Both the Pariserom and the
Paskome cooperate in this ceremonial activity. The Paskome care for the
image and the fiapakobam and the other Pariserom burlesque and protect
the group.
Cuarto konti, the fourth Friday procession (konti) was also called
Dolores, San Pedro, and San Jose; although there was no consensu?, 'it
seems likely that this is the Friday of San Jos and that the following one
is of San Pedro.
Qulnto kontl, the fifth Friday procession (konti) was also called
Lazaro, which appears to be incorrect, and San Pedro, which seems more

253
*?

likely. Another Mayo called it the "comes rItom

Aai Rrlday. " This

refers to the return of the image from the home ceremonies, the "resting"
of Christ.
Sexto konti. the sixth Friday procession (konti) was described as:
kurusim poponake. Kalbarlo biSa (they will pull up the crosses, toward
Kalbarlo). The capture of the ? O ?ola and the limosna processions were
not mentioned as specific activities by this Informant. However, other
Mayos considered the capture as of great ritual importance. Therefore,
we will includ specially the limosna procession as an activity.
Miercoles, Tlnleblas velacion (Wednesday, Tinieblas service or
vigil).
Tueves. ^O^ola hana teopopo 6ikola (Thursday, the ^O^ola runs
around the church). Ha^abwanake kurusim ^O^olata beSl^lbo (thus they
are going to nail the ^O^ola to the crosses). Wami yeu wlva hume Pilato
(the Pilate is going to carry him off from the little house).
Septimo Vlernes, konti teopopo Cikola. seventh Friday, the pro
cession takes place around (konti) the church.
Sabado de Gloria, the Saturday of Glory.
Domingo. Pascua, Easter Sunday, ultimo, kalta intok (this is all,
there is nothing more).
The last three activities appear somewhat abbreviated and most
other Mayos with whom we talked added the crucifixion with the Seventh

254

Rriday, the baptism with Saturday, and the meeting of Christ and Mary
with Easter Sunday. However, the main set of activities are here and
are as follows: the six Friday processions, the capture of the ?O ?ola
and the limosna processions, the Tinieblas service, the crucifixion and
following processions, the resurrection and baptism, and the meeting of
Christ and Mary.
The Six Friday Processions
In order to describe the numerous networks of the Banari Easter
ceremonial in as concise a manner as possible, a code will be used to
symbolize participants. Symbols will be assigned as necessary (see Fig.
8). In general, the first letter of the symbol indicates wither a Church
group (C), an Artifact,(A), the Parisero sodality (P), or an Image (I). The
second letter indicates a specific status such as church Maestro (CM),
or Parisero Pilato (PP). The third letter is even more specific such as
large Crucifix Image Bearer (ICB) or Tiniran Paskome (CPT). A number
means a first, second, .. .n person in a status; for example, the first
Maestro (CM1), the second Maestro (CM2), .. .n Maestro (CMn). An X
in one of these categories means the category is not specified.
The first network and events, the Rriday procession begins around
noon when the Paskome (CP) sweep the church (AT) and Kalbarlo (AWK)
(see Fig. 8) and decorate the church images (I) with greenery. The sweep
ing is like an encircling (konti) of the AWK, the AT, or other sacred object.

255

The ^Alawasim (CPA) sweep In a counter-clockwise direction ^ , whereas

the others, Paresim (CPP) and the ^Alparesim (CPAp) sweep in a clockwise
direction (?) . Thus they (CP) cover the area from both directions. This
circular sweeping can be seen best inside AT and at the fourteenth station
of Kalbario (AWK14). Thus the network of this first event of the Friday pro
cessions is one of CP interrelationship manifest in a circular sweeping
pattern which is conceived of by Mayos, as enclosing or surrounding or
covering an area. This event is in preparation for the afternoon of cere
monial. It is like a first greeting and awakening of the sacred area, AWK.
Where the relation O is sweeping CPA ^+) 0 AWK, (CPP + CPAp) (+^ D AWK.
Or CCPA 5)] + C(CPP + CPAp) (+p DAWK.
A little before one p.m. the Capakobam (PC) and the Pariserom (P)
in general begin to make their way toward the AT. As groups of the PC
arrive at the entrance to the village, marked by the Pueblo cross (IRP)
and a large ''abaso tree, they were met by a Pilato (PP) on horseback (PPH).
When a large group has gathered, between 10 to 20, PP brings them in two
lines across the plaza and up to AT. This entrance event involves a net
work of PPH leading PCI .. .n Into the most sacred Mayo area. Near the
AT, the PCI .. .n split with one line running clockwise and the other
counter-clockwise around AT three times. Then, In this fashion, they
proceed to run AWK three times (see Fig. 2). The lines of running PC in
clude both PC with drums and with swords; however, those with swords are

256

first in line ahead of the ones with drums. The PC are confessing for the
community. The network involves only PC in relation to the sacred area,
AWK, and in relation to themselves as the PP has left the ritual context.
This ritual event is called the konti by Mayos and is almost identical in
structure to the CP sweeping and to the main Friday procession. As the
sweeping ritual, this konti is preparatory and also provides a context for
CP behavior and burlesque. Where the relation (D) is running and burlesqu
ing CP^i) DAWK and CP 0 DAWK or CP 0 + CP Q DAWK.
The next event involves the entry of the Bahi Mariam (CBm), the
Bahi Reyesim (CBr), and their madrinas (CBmM, CBrM) into AT and the
preparation of the Church groups (C) and the images (I) for the procession.
Between 2 and almost 3 p.m. the church's doors are closed. The CBm,
CBmM, CBr, and CBrM arrive and sit on the benches around the side porch
of AT. They tear up flowers for the angels to throw and the madrinas
weave their crowns of flowers for the children to wear. Around 3p.m. the
Mo^oro (CMo) and Sacristan (CS1) opened the door as they begin to enter
AT, the Flautero (PF) plays a solo to the crucifix (IC) to be used in the
procession, either the large crucifix (IC) or the small one (ICs). As the
children enter, they go to the small altar on the far wall where they pick
up a hipehtam (mat) upon which they kneel, the CBr in a line on the left
hand side as one faces the altar and the CBm on the right. Erom this
point on, this left hand half of the church will be designated by M (male)

257

and this right side by F (female). The CBrM stand behind their godchildren
as do the CBmM. From after 3 until almost 4:30 p.m. the PC perform and
burlesque within the church for the madrinas, angels, and pueblo women
(CW) in general who had gathered for the procession. In terms of networks,
we have one, that of the madrinas as helpers and guides of the little angels
shifting to one of the madrinas as protectors of the children, who are being
attracted by the PC bribery and PC pantomime. During the pantomime itself
the PC activity field focuses upon cooperation with other PC in their ritual
pantomime. As observers, however, the madrinas, little children, and
women (CW) are part of this second network which develops after some
of the children, the audience, have taken their places in the church.
A little after 4 p.m. the Sacristan (CS1) rings the bells again and
PF plays again to IC or ICs on the altar. Also at this time, the Kabos
(PKa) are busy gathering up the PC for their brief service behind the AT
before the procession. Within AT the Maestros (CM), the Cantoras (CC),
the Mo^oro (CMo) are gathering. By 4:30 p.m. the real activity has be
gun. The CP line up in two lines, the CPP and CPAp near the front door
but facing the altar and the CPA to their right, just in front of the line of
CBm facing the center of the church. The CMo directed and handed out
the additional paraphernalia which he got from the front corner of the M
side of AT. He gave one CPA the bamboo mat and short sticks for AWK14
(Kalbario), another CPA a hipehtam (mat) upon which to rest the large

258

cloth of flower petals, and three more CPA long switches. Then CPAhipehtam gets the large cloth with the flower petals from the image ante
room. CMo motions for the three CPA-switches to move across the center
of the church and stand in front of CBr. Then the remaining CPA line up
in front of the CBr and the line of CPAp and CPP moves over in front of
the CBm. In front of the altar CM and CC begin the pre-procession
service. This first network of the procession involves preparation, in
teraction between CPA and CMo, and the beginning of the formal service
by CM and CC. Also, the CPA and CPAp f CPP retain their left-right
orientation, with the CPA standing at the right hand of the CPAp + CPP
and in turn, the CPAp + CPP at the left hand of the CPA. . This is the same
orientation as the konti pattern.
At this same time behind AT one of the Parisero officers, PP or
Pk (Kapitan), is concluding his speech to PC. The PC pull on their masks
and PKa lead two long lines of them around to the front of AT, where they
line up, the first with his sword stuck into the bricks of AT. The PCswords are first in the line and PC-drums follow those with the swords.
One of the lines is led around each side of AT so it is surrounded. Then
the special Parisero group (PG) leaves the back of AT, marches out be
yond the second cross of AWK (AWK2), turns in a broad arch, and enters
AT moving down between the long lines of PC and through the front door.
This network involved the preparation of P and their arrival and involves

259

Interaction among only members of the Parlsero sodality. The dapakobam

surround the church led by Kabos while the special Parisero group enters
the church.
Around the time the PG is entering AT, CMo is sending the three
CPA-switches out to guard the first three crosses of AWK. On the first
few Fridays CMo wearing a black scarf over his mouth accompanies CPA
to the crosses and reads a short service at each; however, on the later
Fridays the CPA go alone. At each cross (IR) they |+) three times and one
remains guarding. He stands behind IR, places his staff on IR, and faces
the procession and AT. Later as the procession advances from station to
station, these guard CPA move on to the next IR. Before they leave, each
^+) IR three times and when he arrives at the next IR he

it three times

also. Finally, the three CPA end guarding one of each of the crosses at
Kalbario, AWK14. As the main procession runs to AWK14, these three
CPA(+++) AWK14 three times and return to AT, where they stand in the
doorway protecting AT from PC. The network of this ritual links CPA to
the sacred crosses. It is preparatory for the following procession. Also,
o
we see the typical 'Alawasin counter-clockwise konti pattern.
While the CPA are greeting the first three crosses of AWK and CM
is beginning the service the PG enters AT and remains standing within AT
while CM and CC complete the service. On the sixth Rriday, and likely
on the other Fridays, two P, either PP or PK, stood during the service

260

with their swords crossed in front of the altar. Again, this network, re
lating the members of the special Parisero group with the already assembled
group and with the images on the altar, is a ritual of preparation leading
into the procession itself.
This next network involves the formation of the procession and
its first movements out of AT. As the service of CM ends, the CFX car
ries the crucifix and the altar women (1MB) carry the image of Mary (IM).
Whether they remove the images from the altar or are assisted by church
officials was not observed. During this time, CP move to AT door and
the PG splits into two halves, with the three PC dropping behind the en
tire procession. Half PG (PF first and then PP and PK) follow directly
behind CP. Behind PF, PP, and PK comes IC and ICB (the large crucifix
and its bearers). On the first Friday IC was carried, while on the second
through fifth ICs, and on the sixth both IC and ICs. After IC comes the
second half of PG (PF first and PP and PK), IM and 1MB, and CBm, CBmM,
CBr, and CBrM. And finally CW, the three PC or the PG, and CM and
CC who fall behind during the conclusion of the service and hurry to catch
up with the images as they leave AT. Then they walk with or near IM. As
the images leave AT two sets of four persons each have been unfolding
the two he^ekam (cloth shades). When each image passes through the
door and during most of the remainder of the procession, they hold the
he 7 eka, supported by four long poles at each of its four corners, above

261

the image as a shade from the sun. On the return to AT, as the images
pass through the door, the he^ekas stop just outside the door and are
folded and stored until the next procession. This network in-which the
procession finally takes form is perhaps the most complex action, in
terms of numbers of persons integrated, of the Friday processions. Al
most everyone taking part in the procession is in interaction at this time,
interrelated in the following sequence: CP PF PP PK IC ICB PF PP PK IM
1MB CM CC CBm CBr CBmM CBrM CW PC. This network comes rather
easily out of the preparation event. All necessary personnel have al
ready assembled as described in the above networks. Each unit is
ready to go and has been in preparation for several hours, so there is
no last minute calling somebody from home to get over, that the proces
sion is ready to go. Also, the supernaturals have been alerted that the
procession is in preparation. The networks of the preparation event have
this ritual supernatural function, as well as simply getting everyone to
gether. The kontis performed by CP and PC and the flute solo ("praying")
inform the supernaturals of the coming major event, the procession. So
the preparation networks are sacred in nature, as well as involving the
organization of the memberships of several different sodalities. To turn
specifically to this organizational function, let us reconsider the struc
tural pattern within the church. It is really quite simple when the prepa
ration event has preceded. On the other hand, it would be quite complex,

262

if not impossible, without preparation oriented around sodality networks.

The sodality networks are piled up like layers of an onion. The procession
forms just backwards to the peeling of an onion. That is to say, as the
center moves out of the church, each outer layer moves in toward the
center, each center, of course, falling in behind the preceding one.
More specifically, CW, GBmM, CBrM, CBm, and CBr gather first and
form the outer layer next to the walls. They join the procession last
and in the above order with the CW last, followed only by PC and assorted
men of the village who are following the procession. In the inner layer
are CP and PG, who make up the first section of the procession. In be
tween are CM, CC, IM, 1MB, who make up the center section of the pro
cession. Thus, the preparation event is important in both a sacred and
an organizational fashion; when it is completed the supernaturals have
been notified and the social units are posed, ready to join the procession
in a direct and orderly fashion when the time comes. Everyone is drawn
into the network.
The next event, set of networks, involves the procession itself.
After the organization and movement out of AT the next network involves
the service at the first cross of AWK. As the procession leaves AT, CSI
climbs on the bell stand and rings the bells, standing on the far side of
the bells, facing AT and the procession, holding the short topes from the
clapper of each of the two bells; in each hand he moves his hands rapidly

263

together and apart, thus ringing the bells. In fact, this is the usual bell
ringing technique. In this way, he rings the bells for several minutes as
the procession makes its way to the first cross. The CP hurry ahead of
the procession so they may surround the cross in their traditional man
ner, CPA three times ^ and CPAp + CPP three times

. Then CPA

place the hipehtam (mat) down directly in front of AWKl and the cloth
with flower petals she spreads out on the mat. As the images arrive they
are carried around AWKl and then held near the cloth with flowers. The
images are turned so that they face in the same direction as does the
cross, for the first five stations toward the church and for the sixth
through the thirteenth west, or toward the setting sun. I do not believe
the images are carried around the second through the thirteenth stations;
however, I am not definite on this point. On the sixth Friday, IC goes
one-halfway around each station 2) . When the images are set, CM
reads the service, CC sing, and the others except P cross themselves
and kneel. The kneeling CP keep track of the prayers on their rosaries
and 1MB respond in a monotone unison to the service of CM. As the
service ends, those kneeling cross themselves and stand, while CBm
and CBr throw flower petals. The CP surround the station, CPA three
times JJ) and CPAp + CPP three times (? . At this same time the two
lines of PC surround the procession by running out toward AWKw, crossing
over and running back to

. The PC enter AT and take the altar

264

flowers which belong to the images, especially Christ. They tilt back
their masks, take a flower in their hands, replace the masks and leave
AT. They obtain flowers on every Friday but second, when they emerge
from AT empty-handed. On the sixth (the last Friday AWk procession)
all PC take red flowers. After leaving AT, PC catch up with the proces
sion and some form two lines on either side of it and remain in this posi
tion until AWK14. Other follow behind or here and there, poking fun at
anything that happens to come to their attention. This same pattern of
ritual and network occurs at AWK1 . . .13, except of course, the running
of the PC into AT, which happens only after the first station. It is the
same also for the six Friday processions with several minor alterations.
At the stations where there is not enough room to surround the cross
itself, CP walk in a circle beside the cross

On the first and sixth

Fridays when IC is carried, his crown of thorns is adjusted several times

in between the first several stations. The procession stops, the ICB
dip the IC down so a woman can reach Christ's head. She adjusts the
crown and the procession proceeds. Also, on the sixth Friday at AWK5
...13 the procession moves further to its left so the participants face
IC and the east, and not AWK 14 as they did on previous weeks. But
this is only a minor adjustment. Also, on the return to AT on the sixth
Friday, an old man carried IC between AWK2 and AWK1. Besides these
slight variations and different colors utilized on the different Fridays,

265

which we shall discuss below, the form of the procession is always the
same.
Toward the end of the service at AWK13 CPA rose and proceeded to
AWK14, which she surrounded several times (*++) . Then she placed two
sticks in the slots of the four supports standing in front of the crosses
and lay the bamboo mat across the gap. Then she stood at the right hand
side of the three CPA guarding AWK14. As the service was concluded at
the thirteenth station and the little angels threw flowers, everyone,
especially the Pariserom, ran to AWK14 which they all surrounded at once.
The three guard CPA protect AWK14 from the Pariserom with their switches.
Then the three CPA return to AT, which they guard from PC. The surround
ing of AWK14 is quite complex, counting from the three crosses outward,
Parisero Ya^uCim go around several times (+++) , CPAp + CPP several
times Q , CPA several times ^+) , CM + CC several times (? , IM + 1MB
twice (+ , IC @ , CBm + CMmM and CBr + CBrM

, women and men

of the village once |+) , and PC once/F^. At this point the Pariserom all
leave the procession, wander up along a canal bank, relax, smoke, and
chat. They do not return to the procession until the service is concluded
at AWK14. For the long service, IM is placed on the bamboo mat facing
the procession and back down AWK toward AT. ICs is held at IM's right
hand side by a young man with a head scarf. A summary of the networks
of the procession to this point is meaningless because everyone mentioned

266

above would be included. Everyone is related to everyone else. This is

especially true in the charge and surrounding of AWK14. We can show this
relationship in the following manner.
PF + PP + PK + PCI.. .PCn (Fl)

AWK14

PCI'...PCn*

AWK14

AWK14

AWK14

CC t CM + IM + 1MB

AWK14

IC + ICB

AWK14

CBm + CBmM + CBr * CBrM

AWK14

AWK14

(F5

CPP + CPAp
CPA

(Ft)

CW * CMe

(Ft)

Or
PF + PP + PK * PCI. . .PCn * CPP + CPAp + CC + CM + IM + 1MB
(+^+)

3 AWK14-

PCl'. . . P C n ' + CPA tCW+CM ( O AWK14.

Or, if we include the konti to the left and to the right within 0, then
PF + PP + PK + PCI.. .PCn + PCI'.. .PCn' + CPP + CPAp + CPA + CC
+ CM IM + 1MB + IC + ICB * CBm + CBmM + CBr + CBrM
+ CW

CM O AWK14

This means that everycme is inteirelated in their konti relationship with

AWK14. AWK14 or the concept which it symbolizes is extremely important,
if not the most important focus of ritual in the six Friday processions. In

267

terms of network complexity, this is the high point of the first six Fridays
of Lent. One other factor to be noted which is basic to the structure of
the Friday processions are the networks at each of the stations. First
there is the preparation network, the greeting or konti; second the special
event network, the service at the cross; third the completion network, the
throwing of flowers and finally the closing network, a second konti pattern.
Thus, the structure of activity at each station of AWK involves a prepara
tion konti pattern, a closing konti pattern, a special event (the service),
and a completion ritual. This might be symbolized as, RP (preparation
ritual or konti) plus RE (special event) plus RC (completion ritual) plus
RC1 (closing ritual or konti), or as RP -t RE + RC

RC1. And the complete

procession to this point might be symbolized as

(RP + RE1 + RC + RC1) t (RP + RE2 + RC + RC1) 4 (.. .)
+ (RP + RE13 + RC + RC1).
After the service at AWK14 the Pariserom rejoin the procession
and everyone returns to AT. This return is amidst great confusion, be
cause during the long service at AWK14 tractors with loud motors, auto
mobiles and busses, and men on horseback have piled up behind the pro
cession, which at this point filled the main country road from Banari to
Camalobo (later in 1961 a new gravel road was constructed). This accumu
lation of distractions follows the procession from AWK14 to AWK5. On the
way back to AT there are four stops for services; the first three, which are

268

very short, are more or less spaced between AWK14 and AWK 6 and are
not in relation to the stations of AWK. The procession takes much the
same form as in the movement from AT to AWK14 with CP (CPP, CAPp, and
CPA) first, P (PP, PK, PF, PT?) second, IC and ICB third, P (PP, PK, PF)
fourth, IM and 1MB with CM and CC fifth, CBm with CBmM, CBr,with CBrM,
and CW sixth, CMe last, and two long lines of PC on each side of the proo
cession. Between AWK14 and AWK 6 I am not sure if the Parisero Ya uiSim
are divided into two groups, one preceding IC and the other IM or if they
are all grouped preceding IC. There is definitely a group preceding IC
and I would suspect also one preceding IM; however, this second one is
not reported in our field notes. After the service near (but not in relation
to) AWK6 they are definitely split on the remainder of the return and entry
into AT. At the first three stops before nearing AWK6 the procession
simply stops. IC is turned around in a clockwise direction so he faces
backward toward IM, the remainder of the procession, and AWK14. IM
faces west, the setting sun, and is not dropped below the heads of 1MB
as she is for the stations of the cross or for AWK14. She is carried by
four 1MB and rests upon a wooden support like that illustrated in Mario
Gill (1957:113) used in the carrying of la Virgen Loretito. CP move
around the stopped Parisero Ya uttim (PY) and kneel in the space between
PY and the remainder of the procession. The others in the procession do
not kneel. Soon CP stand crossing themselves, move around PY and the
procession moves on.

269

The fourth stop, the final one before the procession returns to
AT, is somewhat longer and is correlated with the sun so that it takes
place just as the sun sets. At some point before arriving at this stop,
the PY leave the procession and walk in a single line along the small rise
at the right of the procession. They stop beside the tree which is on the
edge of the pueblo and is where PC gather before running to AT early each
Friday afternoon. The PY turn so they face the procession, AWK6, the
pueblo cross, and the east. One PK is first in the line, then several PP
and finally several more PK and PF. Meanwhile, the procession has
stopped, IM is lowered and faces west, IC is turned and also faces west
and the setting sun. The service here is rather long and then the pro
cession reforms and returns to AT. During this time, the guard CPA have
been standing in the doorway of AT. They disappear into AT with the
arrival of the procession. As the images enter AT several persons stand
just outside the door and fold the he''ekas and then store them inside the
church. Everyone in the procession enters AT except PC, who line up in
two long lines in front of AT as they did before the procession. Almost
immediately PG march out of AT and around behind it. The PC lines move
behind AT, one moving around each of the sides of AT surrounding it. The
Pariserom relax and rest before their run towards their homes. The PC
tilt back their masks and are lectured to by one of the PY and soon are
running away from AT. On several of the Fridays, some of the Pariserom

270

remain; however, see below for the description of this additional activity.
During this same time, a short service is taking place within AT with a
reading by CM and singing by CC. At appropriate points in the service,
members of the procession cross themselves and then 1MB takes the
flower crowns from the little angels, carries them to their right hand side
of the altar (the F side), and leaves them there. Then all the personnel
of the procession, except the Paskome, leave AT. During the period of
the service the Paskome have been standing in two lines, the same for
mation as used before the procession, with CPP + CPAp in the center of
the AT facing the altar and the CPA in a line perpendicular and to the
right hand side of the CPP + CPAp. At this point, they get out the large
church flag and execute a closing ritual which is specifically Paskome
and is a complex type of surrounding (konti). Although this ritual is an
important part of c- her Mayo ceremonials, since it is of minor importance
in our analysis of the Parisero sodality, we shall not describe it in addi
tional detail. This exercise, ejercicio, concludes the Friday procession.
The networks in this return to AT, in the several stops, and in the closing
rituals are complex and at certain points interrelate all the members of
the procession; however, at no point do we have everyone interrelated
so dramatically as in the konti of Kalbario, AWK14. Also, these networks
are practically identical to ones which appeared earlier in the procession;
for example, the structure of the procession is identical, both in leaving

271

and returning to AT. The only new network occurs at the stop at the pueblo
cross. This is new in the sense that the PY stand in a line facing the pro
cession, while the images are turned to face the setting sun and the PY.
It appears as if these stops and the return procession is what we might
call a completion procession (JRC). It completes the surrounding of AWK
Also, there is no RC1 (closing konti) at AWK14, so this returning proces
sion could be likened to the RC1. Its high point, the stop near the pueblo
cross (IRP) is intimately related to the service at AWK14. It concludes the
AWK14 service. Lastly, we have the closing service RC1 within AT read
by CM, the PC surrounding and closing service behind AT spoken by A
PY, and the final CP konti. Note that each unit holds its own closing
ritual as each held its own opening ones. There is no central network
which relates to them all. In summary, we may symbolize these Friday
activities as consisting of several sets of events, preparation konti (RP)
enacted separately by PC and CP, special event (Friday procession) (REF)
integrating all personnel, specially at AWK14, completion procession
(RC) completing, but in the opposite direction the integrated action and
reaching a climax at the stop near the pueblo cross, and finally closing
konti enacted separately by CP and PC. Or in time order RP + REF f RC +
RC1. We may divide REF into (RP + RE1 4- RC + RC1) *(...) + (RP + RE13 +
RC + RC1) and RP + RE14. Therefore, the complete formula for the first
six Friday activities, the Friday kontis, is: RP + (RP + RE1 + RC + RC1) +
(...) + (RP + RE13 + RC + RC1) + RP + RE14) + RC

RC1.

272

There are also variation between the Friday processions which can
be conceived of as two types; the first involves differences within the
ritual itself, especially color combinations, and the second additional
activities may precede or follow the main activity, in this case, ?Itom
?Aai's return from and departure to a house ceremony. First, in terms
of variations within the activity itself, there may be alternative services
which the Maestro uses for different Fridays; however, I have no data upon
the speific services which he uses. With the exception of the removal of
the crosses on the sixth Rriday, there seems to be no important behavioral
difference between the processions. After the service at AWK14, as the
procession returns to AT, several Paskome as well as an unidentified
man, probably one of the Paskome1 s relatives, simply pulls up the crosses
of AWK and carries them into AT. The man carries a pile of crosses on
his left shoulder and pulls the last one up with his right hand. No particu
lar ritual is involved in their removal. On the other hand, color variations
appear to be of ritual importance. These are especailly manifest in the
color of dress which the image of Mary wears and the color of the flowers
she carries. The alternates are as follows: First Friday, Mary wears
white and carries two red roses; the little angels also have red roses in
their green crowns. The second Rriday, Mary wears blue. A yellow rose
was observed as decoration on a house cross.

The third Friday, Mary

wears pink and carries white buds which have a very pleasant sweet odor.

273

Also, this Friday, the small crucifix is covered with a white cloth in a
manner so that only Christ's head is visible, protruding through a hole
in the cloth. The fourth Friday, Mary wears lilac or purple and carries
two red roses and a long white ribbon. Also, Las Cruzacitas. a Mayo
sacred place marked with several crosses, is decorated with lilac
colored flowers. The crucifix still wears its white cloth and the altar
is filled with burning candles. On the fifth Friday, Mary wears white
and carries two red roses and a black rosary like the Maestro's. Also,
the little angels have red roses in their crowns again. The sixth Fri
day, Mary wears pink and carries red flowers. The church cross, kurus
o
yo owe, is decorated with red flowers, while on former weeks it was
undecorated. Kalbario, AWK14, is decorated with green crowns with
red, white, and blue flowers and many PC have red, white, and blue
flowers on their masks.

Also, they get red flowers in their rush into

the church. The small crucifix is still covered with the white cloth and
the altar has six tall vases of sunni (cane) and four tall white candles.
Thus, we have an emerging symbolism linked to the activities which we
have been reporting. Important foci in social networks will be seen to
be what we call ritual symbols in the following section. The most im
portant example which we have seen as a focus of networks, AWK14
(Kalbario), also turns out to be an important aspect of a ritual symbol.
More of this type of analysis must, however, be put off until the follow
ing section.

274

Secondly, on several Fridays, a different configuration of events

precede and follow the procession. Before the third Friday procession,
around 3 p.m., a procession headed by PPH comes up along the way of
the cross, AWK. One of the women sitting beside AT says, " ^a^abo weye
^Itom ?A&ai" (here comes Our Father). By this time, the he^eka bearers
o

have rushed out to about AWK2 and raised the he eka over the head of
a man wearing a pink scarf wrapped around his head and carrying the small
crucifix. Some of CW, CBmM, and CBrM also go out to AWK2 to greet
^Itom ?Aai. By this time, also, CM and CC have arrived. CW kneels
while CM reads a short service and CC sings. Then the group accompany
the image back to AT where 1MB kneel near the back of AT during another
service by CM. Then 1MB present offerings of red flowers to the images
on the altar, and the women leave AT. This represents the closing event
in a series of events belonging to an activity called "resting Christ," a
house ceremony for Him, and is not a part of the activity called the Fri
day konti. Similarly structured networks occur in other Mayo ceremonialism
associated with home ceremonies during other parts of the year, so the
above behavior fits within a Mayo ceremonial pattern, a pattern which
is beyond the boundary of the materials analyzed within this monograph.
As the above represents the return of ?Itom ?A6ai, the following,
which takes place on the third, fourth, and fifth Fridays, represents His
leaving AT on the way to a house ceremony. This event is dove-tailed

275

only in time with the Friday konti and is not a part of that activity. The
Friday konti is complete as described above. After the closing service
and kontis on three of the Fridays of Lent, a few PC return to the front
of AT and form two lines. One he^eka is unfolded and soon PG march
into AT. Then they emerge with the Paskome, CM, and ICs and move to
AWK1 where CM reads a short service. They then move on to AWK2 for
the same and then to AWK3 for another short service with the Paskome
kneeling. On the third Friday, two PP are on horseback. Before the
service at each cross, they ride their horses around each of AWK2 and
AWK3 several times'in a clockwise direction. When the service is com
plete, the PPH and several others with ICs and PC run off in the direction
of the house where the ceremony is to take place. The CM and CP re
turn to AT. This network can be conceived of as a preparation event
in a house ceremony type of activity.
After the procession on the sixth Friday, a variation takes place
which must be considered as part of the Friday konti pattern. After the
closing service within AT the Tiniran Paskome (CPT) and the Santa Kuruh
Paskome (CPK), both carrying their respective flags, leave AT and go some
200 to 300 feet away from AT. They line up in four lines, forming a
square. The CPPT + CPApT with the Tiniran flag make up the line closest
to AT, but with their backs to AT. The CPPK + CPApK, with their flag,
line up on the side of the square directly opposite the Tiniran CPP + CPAp.

276

Then the Tiniran CPA form one of the sides and the CPAK the other. Then
a complex of flag wavings and hand shakings takes place which encloses
the area like a konti through counter-clockwise movements on the part
of CPA and clockwise movements on the part of CPP + CPAp. One of
our friends said they are giving salud, greetings. When the ritual con
cludes, the Tiniran Paskome return to the Banari church and the Santa
Kuruh Paskome run off in the direction of their own church. The two
groups of Paskome combine to actualize the Friday konti and after this
last Friday konti, AWK, they formally say good-by. This network of
actions is a typical Paskome pattern and occurs in many other ceremonial
contexts besides that of the Easter ceremonial. However, within this
context, it is part of the closing konti, and is a variation of that event
of the Friday konti. In summary, in this section we have attempted to
analyze the first six weeks of Lenten ceremonialism in terms of activities
(the six Friday processions), event (the preparation networks, the special
event networks, the completion networks, and the closing networks) and
the specific networks, such as Paskome sweeping around the sacred
area or the dapakobam running around the sacred area. We have at
tempted to lay bare the structure of the activity and have discovered that
the behavior at each of the crosses in the sacred area has much the same
structure as does the activity as a whole. We have examined the vari
ations and found that either they fit within this structural pattern, or

277

that they were preparation or closing ritual for a completely different

activity, the house ceremony. Lastly, we have discovered that the peak
of social integration involves the surrounding of the last set of crosses,
Kalbario, in the sacred area. The ceremony builds in terms of integrating
more and more diverse personnel until this point is reached, after which
groups tend to diverge and conduct their own closing rituals. We can pre
dict, therefore, that Kalbario has deep symbolic meaning for Mayos and
is an aspect of what we will wish to call a ritual symbol.
Holy Week Activities
Turning on to Easter Week itself, which might be conceived of as
a supra-activity, with the six Friday processions as preparatory activi
ties, five important activities may be isolated: Tinieblas, the running
of the ^O^ola, the crucifixion, the Gloria and baptism, and the meeting
of Christ and Mary and His return to the church. During Easter Week, it
is somewhat more difficult to isolate the numerous events and networks
making up the main activities because of the compression of time. Many
more networks are being formed and dissolved within a much shorter period
of time than in the case of the first six Fridays of Lent. This means that
integration and therefore observation, description, and analysis becomes
more complex. However, if we keep the major activities foremost in mind
and relate them to the structural framework of events developed for the

278

first six Fridays (preparatory ritual, special event, completion procession,

and closing ritual), we can perceive the basis of network integration and
also more carefully define the underlying structure of the activities, the
basic blueprint from which social interaction is generated.
The first important activity of Easter Week, which easily may be
conceived of as a preparatory activity, although it is a complete activity
in itself, is the capture of the ? O ? ola and the limosna processions. Al
though additional individuals were added from time to time, the structure
of the procession and the statuses represented remain as described below.
The procession takes the following form: first, PF; second, three boys
with green leaf crowns on their heads and one carrying a white plate for
limosnas (these boys are CB4); third, IO (the ^O^ola) with a green leaf
crown on his head and a rope around his waist; fourth, several IOM (the
madrinas of the

O ola) holding on to the rope and one carrying a water

gourd (presumably for IO); and last, a PC holding on to the end of the
rope. Following along with this formal unit are PP, PKa, PK, and about
a dozen PC. As the procession arrives at a home, the boy with the white
plate comes up to the door and a member of the household gives a contri
bution. The network includes the Pariserom, the ''o^ola and his company,
and the household members. The focus of the network is on the ^O^ola
and the boy with the plate, who link the homeowners with the Parisero

279

sodality. In this sense, the ^O^ola is like Kalbario (AWK14), both pro
viding linkage points within the network.
On Wednesday evening after sunset, people begin to gather at AT
for Tinieblas. Around 9 p.m. PC drums can be heard across the plaza in
front of AT. By 9:30 p.m. the CBm, CBr, CBmM, and CBrM have gathered
in AT on the F side of the altar and the CW and CP on the M side, just in
front of IC, which stands against the back wall to the M side of the altar.
Toward the back of the altar are six vases of tall flowering cane (bakasewam); in the center is ICs and to His right on the F side of the altar
is IM. Along the front of the altar are the twelve lighted candles with
plain metal cans partly filled with dirt as holders. Both IC and ICs and
IM are covered with purple shrouds. Also, around this time in the week,
many house crosses are decorated with purple blossoms of the pioSe tree
(a large mesquite-like tree). A mat, hipehtam, is placed directly in front
of and in the middle of the altar and a second one is placed to the right
of the first on the M side of the altar. The CW and CP stand and kneel
in the space behind this second mat. Around 9:30 p.m.the Pariserom
1 0 ? ola and his company march across the plaza and into AT.
with the ?

Their procession is much the same in structure as that of the limosna

procession. A PKa precedes the procession, clearing the way, then the
old man and his group as described above, and finally PG. The PC come
in two long lines on either side of this group. The above networks involve

280

the preparation event. When the procession enters AT, everything is in

readiness. The PG and PC stop in the center of AT. The PC with drums
and one with rattles remain in the two lines for later konti and many of
the others step to the side and stand. The 10 and three boys, all with
green crowns, sit on the mat directly in front of the altar. The CM and
CC stand, kneel, or sit on the other mat. Thus, the members of the
procession very easily fit into the prepared networks and the preparation
ritual comes to an end with the lighting of the candles by two CS who are
standing at each end of the altar. Each sodality, often acting as a net
work within itself, has prepared parts of the material apparatus and set
up the special organization of both personnel and material apparatus,
so that with the lighting of the candles, all the social units are prepared
to interact as a unit and to bring about the key event (JIE) of this activity,
Tinieblas.
After the lighting of the candles CM begin the prayers and CC
the responsive singing. The CP kneeling, follow the prayers on their
rosaries. At the end of each set of prayers, the CC sing, PF play, PC
drum, rattle, and march in a circle around PY. The right line moves in a
counter-clockwise direction and the left in a clockwise direction. After
this long series of prayers, there is a much shorter series of twelve
prayers. After each, CC sings, CS puts out a candle, PF plays, and
PC do the konti, as above. As the last candle goes out, PC beat their

281

drums three times and then shriek. As CM starts praying and the CS on
the right strikes a match to relight the first candle, the PC thunder from
AT and PY quickly march out and around behind AT where they regroup.
The network during this event includes all the Easter ceremonial person
nel focusing around the praying, the PC konti, and the extinction of the
candles, especially the latter, because it is through the extinction and
the final relighting of the candles that all units are interrelated. Also
noteworthy is the position of the ^O^ola directly in front of the altar as
though he also was an integrating node. At this point, outsiders are
asked to leave, as a procession goes to the cemetery to pray. It seems
likely that the PG return to AT and lead a procession flanked on each
side by lines of PC to the cemetery. After the praying in the cemetery,
the Pariserom return to the house across the plaza with the

O ? ola
and

pray the remainder of the night. It seems likely that this procession to
the cemetery fits into the ceremonial structure as a completion proces
sional and the additional ritual after the return to AT and to the Parisero
house could be classified as closing ritual. Thus, the underlying struc
ture of the activity includes preparation ritual, special event, completion
procession, and closing ritual, and the foci or nodal points of network
integration are the extinction and relighting of candles, the ^O^ola,
and praying to the dead in the cemetery.

282

The next important activity, the "running of the ? O ? ola, takes

place late Wednesday afternoon after some considerable preparation,
o
however. The Second Way of the Cross, konti bo o teopopo tiikola
(AWT) has been constructed earlier in the day by the Pariserom and con
sists of eight crosses covered with a green bower running around the
church and a larger green bower with a cross constructed on the right
hand side of the church patio, the M side, the side opposite where AWK1
had been. Around 5 p.m., about one-half hour before sunset, the Pariserom bring the

O 'ola to AT from the Parisero house across the plaza.

The procession to AT is identical with that of the preceding night. When

the procession enters AT the PC line up in two long lines in front of AT.
Soon PG emerge from AT with 10 and his company and take them to the
large bower. Then PG, also with several PKa, march three times from
the bower to AT and then back to the bower. Each time on their return
to the bower they kneel, the only time, except perhaps behind the curtain
on Holy Saturday, when Pariseros kneel. The PC form a large square
around this action, keeping the crowd from getting in the way. After
the third time, they take IO and his company around the eight bowers.
In between the bowers, the procession is led by two groups of PY, one
on each side and just in front of IO. In the center of the groups are two
PP and on the outside two PK. Just in front of IO are two women carrying
gourds out of which the IO drank while he rested at the bowers. The IO

283

and a young man, ap6stol, follows. This ap6stol collects the rope at the
bowers, and when IO rises, he throws it back to PC. Behind IC were
ICM holding the rope, attached to the waist of IO, in one hand and a
switch in the other. Behind ICM are the PC pulling hard on the rope.
Also, other PC are running toward IO attempting to knock him down.
Several PKa walk on either side of IOM. In case the PC get too rough,
a PKa shoves him into one of the two long lines of PC which flank the
procession and hold out the crowd of men walking along beside the pro
cession. The CW, CBm, CBmM, CBr, and CBrM walk on the left hand
side of IOM, and a line of PC behind them also holds back the crowd.
At the bower stops the IO kneels, facing out toward AT and with his
back toward the cross, and one of the women gives him a gourd out of
which to drink water. At this time, the two groups of PP and PK turn
out so that they are standing at the head of the two lines of PC and so
that they are facing away from the bower and IO. After it has stopped
at the eight stations, the procession returns to AT with the two lines of
PC remaining in front of AT. Immediately PG leaves AT and moves behind
AT where they are followed by PC. Then they all relax. Inside AT, IO
and company stand in front of the altar while CM kneels, facing them,
and prays. Also, during this time, the little angels and their godmothers
are lined up as before the Friday processions. Then IO, IOM, and the
others of his company go across the plaza toward the Parisero house.

284

Soon IOM return without IO. He is now considered dead. Although this
is an important activity, in terms of networks it does not integrate all
the key personnel because neither CM nor CC nor CP take part in the
procession. However, for the groups which do take part, the

o 9
1
0 ola

provides the main node of integration. Although CM does take part,

expecially after the procession, he is not integrated within the same
network with the Pariserom, because by this time they have left AT.
In summary, it is obviously the **0''ola and the dapakobam who provide
the main focus for integration and action in this procession. The activity
may be divided into preparation ritual and the special event, the knocking down of the 9 O 9 ola; however, the completion procession is yet to
follow.
Just as the preceding special event has some closing ritual or
networks, for example, the final praying of CM in front of IO, the com
pletion procession includes some preparatory ritual. The images are re
moved from the purple shrouds and Mary turns out to be wearing white. IC
is brought out and placed directly in front of the altar. At 6:30 p.m. the
PG march into AT and the PC line up in front of AT. As the procession
leaves AT it has the following form: first, two PPH galloping constantly
away from and back toward the remainder of the procession; then CS with
an incense holder which he is waving; then PK; then the CP with one CPA
carrying a hipehtam, IC, ICs, and all the CM except one; next follow
two more PPH galloping between the former part of the procession (that

285

of ^Itom ?As*ai) and the following part, of ^Itom ^Aye; following the PPH,
several more PK, then CBm, CBmM, CBr, CBrM, then Mary (IM) and 1MB
and one CM with three CC, all singing as they walk; and, finally, the
women of the procession (CW). On either side of the procession walk the
lines of PC holding each other's swords and keeping the crowd out of the
procession. When each of the eight bowers are reached, CPA set the mat
down in front of the bower. IC is then placed on the mat so that the image
of Christ faces toward AT or the center of the circle. The first set of PPH
and PK turn so they face the procession and IC behind them. The second
set also turn around so they face Mary ClM), also behind them. After
stops at each of the eight bowers, the procession returns to AT, and al
most immediately PG leaves AT and moves behind AT. Soon, when all the
PC have gathered behind AT, the whole group moves across the plaza to
the Parisero house. This procession is said to be for Mary,

Itom ?'Aye,

Our Mother. It appears to me to be classifiable as a procession complet

ing the circle. In this case, the circle involves both a procession for the
^O^ola called the "running of the ^O^ola" (who is like Christ, ^Itom
? Atfai ? Usi) and a procession for Mary (Our Mother) including the Maestro
and other Church organizations which do not take part in the earlier pro
cession. After the second procession, the networks reduce in size and
each group concerns itself with its closing ritual. Within this procession
for Mary the modal nodes are the eight stations and the three images, IC,

286

ICs, and IM. And the structure of this activity includes 1) preparatory
ritual, setting up AWT, etc., 2) the special event, the running of the
^O^ola, 3) the completion procession, Mary's procession, and 4) the
closing ritual. The nodal links in network integration are the

? ?
O ola

and the eight bowers of AWT.

The next event integrates Thursday's activity with that of Friday
in the sense that it represents both a closing ritual in the running of
the ^O^ola and a preparatory ritual for Friday's special event,

the Cru

cifixion. This integrating event is the pulling up of the house crosses

by the Pariserom. Since this event has already been described in some
detail, no additional description is necessary. The social units which
are integrated into a single network are the household and the Pariserom.
As the Pariserom arrive, they are given a limosna by one or several mem
bers of the household. They, of course, remove the house cross. The
house cross then provides the nodal point for the integration between the
Pariserom and the household.
After pulling up the house crosses, the Pariserom gather at the
house across the plaza from the church. It is an ordinary Mayo house
with several rooms constructed of part adobe and part jacal (branch wickerwork plastered with mud) in and around which the Pariserom gather and
rest. While they are organizing late Good Friday morning and Friday
afternoon, preparatory ritual is taking place in and around AT. The PC

287

are carrying long branches of

abaso (cottonwood) into AT, which are

formed into a green bower into which IC, ICs and CBr will be placed.
Also, four straight mounds of dirt, which connect the four innermost cen
ter posts of AT into a large rectangle, are carefully constructed by wetting
and smoothing the earth into the "tomb" of Christ. On the porch of AT
the coffin is decorated and then placed within the tomb. Two CPA with
switches also stand within the tomb. Just before 5p.m. several of the
church officials draw a line in the dirt just in front of the church steps,
and inside AT two CBr and IC and ICs are placed in the bower. A little
after 5 both the church and the Pariserom are prepared for the special
event, and CM begins a short service beside the bower while PG, flanked
by the lines of PC, march across the plaza and up to AT. All the PP march
up to the line in the dirt while the two lines of PC stop in front of AT.
While the service is taking place within AT, the PP take twelve steps,
hesitating for several minutes between each. After the steps, they rush
into AT and one thrusts his sword into the bower "crucifying" Christ.
Immediately they leave AT and march around behind AT. This "cruci
fixion" takes place just as the sun is setting. The PC remove the bower
by taking a branch circling around the bower in a counter-clockwise direc
tion and leaving AT. After the bower is removed, four men, one a Parisero
and likely the other church officials, and Paskome remove the images of
Christ from IC and ICs and place the images in the coffin. For about

288

the next two hours CM reads the funeral service, always facing the coffin
and standing within the "tomb," first on the altar side of the coffin and
second on the far side of it. The Mo^oro (CMo) is always standing at
his side. Twice during this service CS marches around AT, sounding the
wooden clapper. During this time IM is on the altar to the right of the
coffin on the F side of AT and is wearing black. After the service,
around 7 p.m., the main procession is formed. First come the PPH,
galloping their horses back and forth, then PK and CP, fourth, ICs
strapped to IC, fifth, CS with his incense holder, then the coffin and CM
and CC, and finally, a huge group of followers carrying candles. This
represents the ?Itom ^Aai division of the procession. Following the
first division are more PPH (galloping their horses between the two divi
sions of the procession), PK, IM, CBm, CBmM and CW and other followers
with candles. This second unit represents the ^Itom ^Aye division.
Flanking both sides of the procession are the two long lines of PC. At
the eight bowers, when the procession stops, the PPH turn their horses
and the PK turn so they face the unit of the procession which they pre
cede. At each of the bowers, IC with ICs strapped to it is placed on a
mat directly in front of the cross in the bower so that IC faces AT. The
coffin is rested directly in front of IC. While the CM reads the service,
the CP and other members, except of course the Pariserom of the first
division of the procession, kneel; however, the members of the second

289

division do not kneel. After the service at the eighth bower, the proces
sion returns to AT with the first division going to the left around the bell
stand, and the second going to the right.
Services continue within AT until 9:30, when a second procession,
a meeting of Christ and Mary, takes place. The procession forms and
leaves AT exactly as the above procession. However, just after leaving
AT, the two divisions split, with the division carrying IC and ICs circling
in a counter-clockwise direction, and the division with IM in a clockwise
direction. No stops are made at the eight bowers, but as the procession
passes, each IC is turned so the cross faces AT or toward the center of
the circle. These two divisions are definitely conceived of as repre
senting ?Itom ^Aai. About half way around the circle, the two divisions
of the procession meet. The individuals preceding ?Itom ?ASai move to
their right toward the outside of the circle and those preceding ?Itom
9 Aye move to their right toward the inside of the circle, and the images,
the Cross and Mary, meet. They bow to each other three times. Then
?

Itom

Aai continues on, passing on the outside of Mary, and she is

turned toward her left and joins ^Itom ^AiSai. The combined units then
complete the circle in the counter-clockwise direction of ^Itom ^AiSai
and return to AT this time, with both divisions passing to the right of
the bell stand. Soon, those who are to remain in AT for the night settle
down and the others start home. During this time, Mary is still dressed

290

in black. In terms of structure, again, we have the same pattern: 1) a

preparatory ritual, especially involving the knocking down of the house
crosses by the Pariserom, the construction of the bower and "tomb" with
in the church, and the decoration of the coffin; 2) the special event, the
crucifixion, funeral service, and the large procession with candles; 3)
the completion procession, that of Mary meeting Christ; and 4) the
closing ritual, the procession disbanding and the continual prayer of
those remaining within the church. The special event itself includes a
similar type of pattern: 1) the preparation occurs in the Pilato symbolic
crucifixion of Christ and in the funeral service of the Maestro; 2) the
special event includes the lighting of the candles and the procession
with the coffin; and 3) the concluding ritual involves the Pariseros leaving
the church after the procession and the services within the church at this
time. The chief foci or nodal points of network integration are the light
ing of candles and the following procession with the coffin in which large
numbers of people, as well as numerous sodalities,combine within this
single ceremonial context. Also of importance are the symbolic cruci
fixion and funeral service, as well as ^Itom ^AiSai and ''itom ^Aye, who
provide nodes for the integration of each of the dual divisions and for
the ultimate synthesis of these two networks into the full completion pro
cession. Both in terms of numbers of persons and of sodalities, the
most important synthesizing units include the lighting and carrying of

291

the candles, the coffin, the symbolic crucifixion and funeral service, and
''itom ?A8ai and ^Itom ''Aye.
At three o'clock Saturday morning, we hear the bang of firecrackers
and the pealing of the church bells symbolizing the resurrection. Also
the church cross, kurus yo^owe, and the house crosses, tebatpo kurusim,
are replaced and decorated with red flowers. At times between three and
mid-morning, the Mata?fini society dances within the church and the Paskola
and deer musicians set up and begin to play in the Paskola ramada, and the
dancers begin dancing. Late in the morning, around eleven a.m., the deer
and Paskola dancers and musicians have moved from the ramada to a posi
tion just beyond the bells, have set up and are playing and dancing. Also,
the Pariserom are beginning to gather. At 11:45 a.m., the PG, with their
godparents just behind, march from behind AT around beyond the bells into
AT and behind the curtain in front of the altar. The PC line up in two long
lines, running from the area of the bells, into AT and up to the curtain,
leaving a long open corridor between the lines. Just behind the kneeling
PC stand their godmothers and godfathers. This is the time when the god
parents remove the special clothing of the PC, and CM is conducting a
service behind the curtain. The PKa are standing in the corridor making
sure everything goes properly. Soon the deer and Paskola dancers and
two CPA enter AT and go behind the curtain. Then the special running
group (the deer, three Paskolas, two CPA, and three white PC) bursts

292

o
from behind the curtain and runs to the church cross, kurus yo owe, where
they switch the ground with hu 9 upa switches. During this time, CS is
ringing the bells, and people are setting off firecrackers and throwing
red and yellow flower petals. The running pattern takes place three times,
After the third run, the deer, Paskolas, and two CPA step beyond the bells
and the deer and Paskolas begin to dance again. The three white PC re
turn to AT. The CM then baptizes the PC after verification from the god
parents that this individual is their godchild. The pairs of CP and godparents then enter AP and soon return to the church cross, kurus yo 9 owe,
for the ceremony of the new rosaries. They kneel, and while the PC re
peats the Credo, the godparents place new rosaries over his head and
cross him with them. Also, during this time, the masks have been thrown
on the fire and burned. Soon the deer and Paskola dancers and musicians
return to the Paskola ramada where they dance and play during the remain
der of Saturday and early Sunday morning. Also, the Matatfini society
dance during part of this time. The structural pattern of this activity is
somewhat in variation of the patterns which we have discussed. 1) The
preparation ritual is clearly present in the 3 a.m. resurrection ritual, as
well as the dancing of Mata&ini society and deer and Paskolas, and the
preparations within the church, such as the hanging of the curtain. 2)
The remainder of the activity, however, consists in the special event,
the gloria (running of the special group), the burning of the Pariserom,

. 293

and the baptism of the men. The special event itself includes: 1) prepara
tory ritual in the service of the Maestro before the running and the removal
of the special clothing of the Pariserom by the godparents; 2) the special
ritual in the running, baptism; 3) the completion ritual in the new rosary
placing; 4) and closing ritual in the burning of the masks and the dancing
of deer and Paskola near the church bells. However, the activity itself
does not appear to include a completion procession and elaborate closing
ritual. This may be because through the dancing of the Matatfini society
and Paskolas and deer, this Holy Saturday activity is blended with the
Easter Sunday activity. There is not any real closing part of the Saturday
ritual because it is conceived of as extending into the Sunday ritual. In
terms of nodal points of network integration, the running and baptism
provide the locus of interpersonnel relations. In the running, the per
sonnel of the church sodalities, the Paskola and deer groups, and the
o
Pariserom are interrelated through their representatives, the ' Alawasim,
the Paskolas and deer, and the white ^apakobam. In the baptism, the
church sodalities, the Pariserom, and the membership of the community
itself are integrated through the godparents' willingness to vouch for the
Pariserom so that the church represented by the Maestro may officially
accept them among its membership. This act is verified or guaranteed in
the new rosary ritual, when before the church cross the godparents cross
their godchild and he repeats the Credo.

294

At 6 a.m. on Easter Sunday, firecrackers are set off and the

sacred way, Sewateri (AW), is, constructed by the Pariserom and the
Paskome. Between 7 and around 11 a.m. the former PC guard AWS to
keep away people or animals. During this time, the Matatfini society
(CMt) are dancing in AT, first before the altar and IM and later before
a table containing the PP apparatus and the image, ICs and San Juan
(IJ), Saint John. A little after 11 a.m. there is a procession to carry
the table down AWS to the area of the Paskola ramada. First come CMt,
followed by CPT and CPK carrying their respective flags, that of the
Santisima Tiniran and the Santa Kurus, as well as the table, and then
the little angels and madrinas and CW. Around one-half way down AWS,
the group splits, with CPK carrying the table and with some of the little
angels and their madrinas going to the Paskola ramada and CPT, CMt,
and some of the little angels returning to AT. The CMt continue dancing
in front of AT. The CMt musicians, several violin and guitar players,
stand along the AWS left edge (facing down AWS), the F side of AT. Soon
the processions are ready and as CMt dances, CPT, IM, 1MB, and some
of the little angels with their madrinas emerge from AT and move down AWS.
At this same time, the second group, consisting of CPK, PP, PC, ICs, IJ,
CM, and the remaining little angels with their madrinas, come up AWS
from the area of the Paskola ramada cross. Since CM was with this
group, very likely there has been a preparatory service at the Paskola

295

ramada cross. The former PC are lined up along both edges of AWS. When
the two groups are about 200 feet apart, they stop and CM move from the
ICs group to the IM group. Both flag bearers stand on the left side of
AWS, the F side, with CPT near the IM group and CPK near the ICs group.
Most of the remaining Paskome stand on the opposite side, the M side,
of AWS, again CPT near the IM group and CPK near the ICs group. The
PP and PK also split, with half moving to the M side of AWS and the
other half moving to the F side. This leaves an open space in the center
in which the running of San Juan takes place, and which has been de
scribed earlier in sufficient detail. After the running, as the two groups
come together, some of the previous PC run around the AT in two long
lines, one line running in a clockwise direction and the other in a
counter-clockwise direction. When the two lines meet in front of AT,
members of each line attempt to switch those of the other. After the
PC running, they form two long lines in front of AT, switching the ground
as they stand. During this same time, the two groups have been coming
together. When the images meet, ICs and IM bow (are dipped) three
times to each other, IM is turned so she follows ICs into AT. Almost
immediately the final procession forms, encircling AT in a counter-clockwise direction, and returns directly to AT without stopping for services.
The form of the procession is as follows: CMt lead, followed by the
Paskome, both the Santisima Tiniran and the Santa Kuruh and by PP and

296

PK; then ICs and ICsB, followed by IM, 1MB, and CM; and finally CBm,
CBmM, CBr, CBrM, and CW. Along each side of the procession are the
two lines of former PC, and outside the lines some of the men of the
area, with their hats removed, follow the procession around the church.
After the procession returns to AT the Pariserom go out onto the side
porch where they are fed bread and milk by the Bahi Mariam. While
the CMt continue dancing, the next year's mandas are confirmed and
the CBm and CBr are blessed at the church cross in.a ritual similar to
the one which take place after the baptism of the Pariserom. Soon the
Paskolas and the deer cease dancing, the Maestro concludes the last
services within the church, the Paskome complete their ritual and bid
good-by to the Santa Kuruh Paskome, and before long, everyone is on
his or her way home. The last activity of the Banari Easter ceremonial
has drawn to a close.
This last activity, the meeting of ^Itom ^AiSai and ^Itom ^Aye,
follows the same structural pattern as do the earlier activities. 1) The
preparatory ritual includes the preparation of AWS, the sacred way, just
after daybreak, the dancing of CMt and Paskola and deer, the prepara
tion of the table with the images, ICs and IJ, and with the Parisero ap
paratus, the carrying of the table to the Paskola ramada, and the formation
of the two groups, the one with ICs and the other with IM; 2) The special
event, the running of San Juan, the meeting of the two groups, the konti

297

of the former PC, and the return to the church; 3) the completion proces
sion, the last procession around the church, and the feeding of the former
Pariserom; 4) the closing ritual, the comfirmation of promises for the
next year, the blessing of the little angels, and the closing ritual of
the Maestro and the Paskome. In terms of nodal points, which function
to integrate the largest numbers of persons and sodalities into a single
network, the meeting of Mary and Christ, or ^Itom ^Aye and ^Itom ^Aai,
is by far the most important. The symbols of this integration are the three
images, Christ, Mary and Saint John. In the completion procession the
two images, Christ and Mary, provide the focal points of integration,
and in the feeding of the Pariserom, the Bahi Mariam, three Marys, pro
vide the social unit and symbol of the final integration of the former
Pariseros into the church and normal society.
Within a more general structural framework, Sunday's activity
may be seen as a completion ritual (RC) for the preceding Gloria of Holy
Saturday. This relationship may be expressed as RP (resurrection) + RE
(Gloria and baptism) + RC (the meeting of Christ and Mary and the final
procession) + RC1 (Feeding of Pariserom and concluding services). In
conclusion, this pattern of RP + RE + RC + RC1 appears to characterize
the basic structure, blueprint, of the activities of the Banari Easter cere
monial. The first six Fridays' activities fit this pattern (REF1.. .6), as
do the Easter Week Wednesday Tinieblas activity (REW) (extinction and

298

relighting of the candles), the Thursday activity (RET) (the running of

the 'o^ola), the Good Friday activity (REF7) (the Crucifixion), the Holy
Saturday activity (RES) (the Gloria and baptism), and the Easter Sunday
activity (RESu) (the meeting of Christ and Mary). Or this may be symbol
ized as follows:
The six Fridays

= RP + REF1.. .6 + RC + RC1

Wednesday

= RP + REW"

+ RC + RC1

Thursday

= RP + RET

+ RC + RC1

Good Friday

= RP + REF7

+ RC + RC1

Saturday

= RP + RES

+ (RC + RC1)

Easter Sunday

= (RP + RESu)

+ RC + RC1

This makes the basic RP + RE + RC + RC1 formula quite clear. More gener
ally, Saturday's activity may be conceived of as the special event (RE),
with Easter Sunday's activity as the completion ritual (RC). Even more
generally, the entire Easter ceremonial fits into this pattern, with 1) the
six Fridays being preparation ritual (RP); 2) Tinieblas, the running of the
^ola, and the Crucifixion being the special event (RE); 3) the Gloria,
baptism, and the meeting of Christ and Mary being the completion event
(RC); and 4) the feeding of the Pariserom and the closing services being
the (RC1). At this level, we can see a dual division in activities between
the chase and destruction of Christ and his Resurrection and return to the
church. This basic pattern also exists at the level of ceremonials

299

themselves with 1) the Christmas ritual, the birth of Christ, being the
preparation ritual (JRP); 2) the Easter ceremonial, the Crucifixion of Christ,
being the special event (JRE); 3) the Holy Cross ceremonial around the
third of May being the completion ritual; and 4) the closing services of
this ceremonial as being the closing ritual (RC1). In conclusion, this
pattern, RP + RE + RC + RC1, provides the basic structure upon which the
networks, events, event system, and activities of the Banari Easter
ceremonial are based. Also, within this section, we have isolated some
of the objects and individuals which provide points or nodes of integra
tion of large numbers of personnel and of sodalities, for example, Kalbario, the ^O^ola, the lighted candles, the 6apakobam, the dead, the
eight bowers, the house cross, and the images of Christ, Mary, and
Saint John. These nodes will provide the basis of the ritual symbols
which we will discuss in the following section.
Ritual Symbols of the Easter Ceremonial
To this point we have examined the mythological basis, the social
structure, the norms, the material apparatus, and the activities of the
Banari Easter ceremonial. Also, it is becoming clear that all of these
orient around a set of symbols or patterns of behavior which integrate the
ceremonial, as well as refer to, or point to, ultimate Mayo concerns.
These symbols include, "objects, activities, relationships, events,

300

gestures, and spatial units in a ritual situation" (Turner 1967:19). In the

sections of analysis, we have proceeded much as Turner (1967:20) suggests
and are at the point of conceiving of the Easter ceremonial as a complex
ritual symbol.
I found that I could not analyze ritual symbols without
studying them in a time series in relation to other "events,"
for symbols are essentially involved in social process. I came
to see performances of ritual as distinct phases in the social
processes whereby groups became adjusted to internal changes
and adapted to their external environment. Rrom this stand
point the ritual symbol becomes a factor in social action, a
positive force in an activity field. The symbol becomes
associated with human interests, purposes, ends, and means,
whether these are explicitly formulated or have to be inferred
from the observed behavior. The structure and properties of a
symbol become those of a dynamic entity, at least within its
appropriate context of action.
Rather than analyze all the ritual symbols of the Easter ceremonial, which
would prove extremely complex and lengthy, I have selected the chief or
dominant symbols, death and life, or more specifically, the crucifixion
and resurrection of Christ, around which many of the other ritual symbols
can be shown to cluster. Also, these dominant ritual symbols are the
focus of the social groups and the activities, the social structure, as
well as the symbolic structure of the Easter ceremonial.
. . . Symbols, as I have said, produce action, and dominant
symbols tend to become focuses in interaction. Groups mobil
ize around them, worship before them, perform other symbolic
activities near them, and add other symbolic objects to them,
often to make composite shrines. (Turner 1967:22)

301

The analysis of ritual symbols involves three types of data (Turner 1967:20).
The structure and properties of ritual symbols may be
inferred from three classes of data: (1) external form and
observable characteristics; (2) interpretations offered by
specialists and by laymen; (3) significant contexts largely
worked out by the anthropologist.
In the preceding sections, we have discussed at length data filling these
three classes; however, at this point, we wish to relate it to the dominant
ritual symbols, life (birth) and death. The first class of data, external
form and observable characteristics, has been described in great detail
in the section on material apparatus, and now must be related to the
dominant ritual symbols. The following apparatus will be shown to form
part of these symbols, the three crosses of Kalbario and their green
crowns, the house crosses, the ?' O ? ola and his dress, the eight green
bowers of the Second Way of the Cross, the candles used during Holy
Week, the tomb of Christ, the guarding of

Alawasim and of madrinas

with switches, the different color combinations and the feeding of the
fiapakobam with bread. The second class of data, the interpretations
offered by specialists and by laymen, has also been presented in some
detail in the section on the Charter of the Easter ceremonial, as well
as in other sections. By far the most general interpretation, repeated
'by nearly all our friends, is that the Easter ceremonial portrays the life
of Jesus, His crucifixion at the hands of the Pariserom, and His ultimate
resurrection. The Pariserom commit this act because they wish to command,

302

and believe they have the power to do so. However, Christ arises and
they are destroyed. Because they believe they are absolute, they are
not afraid of killing Jesus. They, especially the apakobam, have no
shame. Because they have done what they have, the men must be bap
tized. A ceremonial specialist, a Maestro from further up the Mayo River
than Banari, phrased this in the following manner.
^imi santo. kalbarlompo. ^itom yauSiwa Dips. ''imi muku, nasuk
(here on the holy calvary our Chief God died by means
o

kuruhta werekapo.
ime Hudiom intok, fimi irima na kontlak,
of the cross.
And the Judios Pariserom surrounded him
imi irima ' me'ak. bai kurusim habue ka apo. muku itom yau&iwa
and killed him.
Where there are those three crosses our Chief,

''itom ?Aai Yo^owe.

te hiba yoko ket weye ^Itom ^A^ai
Itom Ai5ai the Elder, died. Itom A<5ai the Elder God always will
Yo ** owe te hiabihtenake. hiba komam tetem hunake hume. pariserom
rise the next morning
And always they will go those Pariserom
bwiyata amtattanake.
to the tomb in the ground.
Although his emphasis is slightly different, the dominant ritual symbols
of death and life (relife) appears. R. Spicer (1939:29) also collected a
similar response in her attempts to discover why the Easter ceremonial
was reestablished by the Tucson, Pascua, Yaquis in 1909 after their flight
from Sonora.
. . . One of the reasons they give for reviving this fiesta is
that they wished to teach the young people as a group about the
Yaqui religion, and also to refresh the memory of it for them
selves. ... It was stated that the importance of the Easter

303

ceremonies lies in their constituting a cumpleano (death anni

versary) for Jesus Christ. Everyone has the obligation of hold
ing a cumpleano for his mother or father, for various of the
saints, and for Jesus Christ. It is a duty.
In this case, the Easter ceremonial is conceived of as a ceremony associ
ated with death, and specifically the death of Jesus Christ. Thus, be
yond a doubt, these ritual symbols of death and life are foremost in almost
every Mayo's mind during the Lenten season. However, the greatest empha
sis is placed on suffering and death. Also, explanations of specific aspects
of the ritual support this inference. For example, Mayos told us definitely
that the bowers over the house crosses and the bowers over the eight
crosses of the Second Way of the Cross represented a tomb, that the
? 0 ? ola,

the house crosses, and the three crosses of Kalbario had green

crowns because they all symbolized the approaching crucifixion of Jesus

Christ, and that the switches carried by the 2Alawasim within the tomb of
Christ were the same as those carried by the godparents of the deceased
in a funeral to be used to chase away dogs and other harmers of the de
ceased. Also among Mayos the idea that taking part in the Easter ceremony
is a confession is extremely widespread. The 6apakoba wearing of the
mask and running around Kalbario is explicitly spoken of as confession.
They are expected to work and to sweat under the masks. After proces
sions the most common comment is tufsi lotila. I am really exhausted. The
participants in the Easter ceremonial, especially the Pariserom, suffer like
Christ did during the last weeks and hours of his life. And in suffering

304

they both become like Christ and confess for their ultimate destruction of
him as well as for the transgressions of everyone in the pueblo during
the preceding year. Through suffering and confession Representing
death) comes purity and the resurrection, the return to life, of Holy Satur
day and Easter Sunday. Thus, the interpretations of the Easter ceremonial
by both specialists and laymen converge upon the ritual symbols of death
and return from death to life.
The last class of data, which requires discussion in somewhat
greater detail, involves significant contexts largely worked out by the
anthropologist. In terms of this class of data we have moved away from
the Mayo point of view and toward a more synthetic and anthropological
one. This is justifiable because we are in a position to see the Bcinari
Easter ceremonial in a wholistic sense. Each participant observes the
ceremonial from his position or role within it. Only the outside observer
through participant-observation and a great deal of analysis is capable
of making the types of inferences which follow. Like a phonology or a
morphology of a language, ritual symbols are based upon observed facts;
however, they are not likely to be isolated in their entirety by members
of the society. Turner (1967) in his article, "Symbols in Ndembu Ritual,"
in The Forest of Symbols, spends a great deal of time analyzing what
this means, because his analysis at times conflicts with that of the

305

Ndembu. Also, and perhaps more serious, his argument is contrary to

those of Nadel and Wilson.
. . . For if Ndembu do not recognize the discrepancy between
their interpretation of the milk tree symbolism and their be
havior in connection with it, does this mean that the discrep
ancy has no relevance for the social anthropologist? Indeed,
some anthropologists claim, with Nadel . . ., that "uncomprehended symbols have no part in social inquiry; their social
effectiveness lies in their capacity to indicate, and if they
indicate nothing to the actors, they are, from our point of view,
irrelevant, and indeed no longer symbols (whatever their sig
nificance for the psychologist or psychoanalyst). " Professor
Monica Wilson . . . holds a similar point of view. She writes
that she stresses "Nyakyusa interpretations of their own
rituals, for anthropological literature is bespattered with sym
bolic guessing, the ethnographer's interpretations of the
rituals of other people." Indeed, she goes so far as to base
her whole analysis of Nyakyusa ritual on the "Nyakyusa
translation or interpretation of the symbolism. " In my
view, these investigators go beyond the limits of salutary
caution and impose serious, and even arbitrary, limitations
on themselves. To some extent, their difficulties derive
from their failure to distinguish the concept of symbol from
that of mere sign. Although I am in complete disagreement
with his fundamental postulate that the collective unconscious
in the main formative principle in ritual symbolism, I consider
that Carl Jung . . . has cleared the way for further investigation
by making just this distinction. "A sign, " he says, "is an
analogous or abbreviated expression of a known thing. But a
symbol is always the best possible expression of a relatively
unknown fact, a fact, however, which is none the less recog
nized or postulated as existing. " Nadel and Wilson, in treat
ing most ritual symbols as signs, must ignore or regard as
irrelevant some of the crucial properties of such symbols.
(Turner 1967:26).
In fact, the main theoretical point of Turner's article isolating ritual sym
bols requires a great deal more in terms of analysis than most, if not all,
members of the society are equipped to produce. Even though this is

306

important, it is not such a crucial concern in our analysis of the dominant

ritual symbols of the Easter ceremonial, that of death and life (return from
the dead), because I believe this analysis basically harmonizes with Mayo
opinion. On the other hand, Turner's analysis (1967:25) shows the ritual
symbol in question to represent "a focus of specified groups in opposition
to other groups," whereas Ndembu believe it represents "only the linking
and unifying aspects of Ndembu social organization." However, this
problem becomes crucial in our discussion of the functional explanations
of initiation and the reader should realize that, at this point, we are in
the process of shifting away from the Mayo point of view to that of the
social scientist.
Let us return however to the last class of data, that which in
volves significant contexts largely worked out by the anthropologist.
The preceding section on Activities presents a great deal of this material,
however, not structured in terms of ritual symbols. The structure, blue
print, of the activities themselves orients around these ritual symbols.
The preparation and special event symbolize death and the completion
event and closing rituals symbolize life. For example, the first half
of Holy Week, the special event of the Easter ceremonial includes the
capture and running of the ? O ?rola (which symbolizes the Crucifixion),
the knocking down of the house crosses, the Crucifixion, and the candle ,
procession after the Crucifixion. The second half, the completion event,

307

includes the resurrection, the baptism of the Pariserom, and the meeting
of Christ and Mary and the return to the church. Obviously these two
halves are oriented around the ritual symbols of death and life (return
from the dead). This type of structure may be traced in each of the Fri
day processions, where the special event, the procession to and service
at Kalbario, represents death and the return to the pueblo, and the church
with services at the pueblo boundary and within the church represent
death of the sun and the return from the dead. Also, this structure
permeates many of the activities of Easter Week, such as the Tinieblas
ceremony, in which the extinction of the candles symbolizes death and
?
the new fire, life. The knocking down of the ?O'ola
symbolizes death
and the following procession for Mary symbolizes life; and the Crucifixion
and the following service and procession symbolize death, and the follow
ing procession with the meeting of Christ and Mary symbolizes life. Thus,
the structure of the activities themselves reflects these dominant ritual
symbols.
The authoritarian structure of the personnel of the Parisero sodality,
as well as their symbol of status, provide aspects of one of the dominant
ritual symbols. As the seiven weeks progress, the Pariserom usurp more
and more power, becoming more and more overbearing and authoritarian,
with the apakobam doing practically anything that pleases them. Finally
in their supremely symbolic acts, the Pilatos chase the ?'O ? ola and crucify

308

Jesus Christ. Their black face coverings heighten the impersonality of

the power involved in the Crucifixion and in death. Most of the Pariserom
carry weapons of death and destruction, and the swords and knives of the
6apakobam are painted red, symbolizing the blood of Christ. Their legs
are also painted with red stripes symbolizing the blood of Christ.
With the resurrection, the above structure shifts to the much
less authoritarian structure of the church and its sodalities, to the throw
ing of flowers, the ringing of bells, and of dancing, to baptism, and re
integration of the former Pariserom. The structure of death has shifted
to one of life. He who was dead is now alive again and amidst the
throwing of flowers and whipping of the earth, He accompanies Our
Mother as they return to the church.
More specifically, what is the field of symbolic meanings which
focuses upon the dominant ritual symbols? The key nodes of personnel
and sodality integration which we isolated in the preceding section now
become important because, as focal points of activities, they also should
be important aspects of the dominant ritual symbols of death and life. To
summarize, some of the main nodes are Kalbario, the ^O^ola, the candles
and shrieking of dapakobam, the eight bowers of the Second Way of the
Cross, the Maestro in the funeral and baptism complexes, the house
crosses, and the three images: the crucifix, Saint John, and Mary. Be
coming more specific, we will sketch the relationship between these nodes

309

and the dominant ritual symbols. Kalbario, the three crosses with greenery
crowns, symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ. The service at Kalbario
takes place just before the sun sets. Again, a reference to the death of
^Itom ?Ai5ai, Our Father, as the sun is at times identified with ^Itom
^AiSai. Times of day are of crucial importance for Mayo ceremonialism.
However, space permits us only to briefly mention these important sym
bolic contexts. The Parisero sodality and the Easter activities up to the
resurrection take place in the late afternoon as the sun sets or after
dark. Also, the ceremony for the dead on November first takes place
chiefly after dark in the cemetery. During Easter Week, Tinieblas takes
?
place after nightfall, the running of the ? O'ola
as the sun is setting,

the procession for Mary after dark, the Crucifixion as the sun is setting,
and the two following processions after dark. However, with the resur
rection, the activities take place either very early in the morning or about
noon, for example, the baptism and the meeting of Christ and Mary.
Thus, night is associated with death and mid-morning with life. Times
of day therefore function as ritual symbols and are important within the
dominant ritual symbols of the Easter ceremonial.
Before the service at Kalbario, the procession does the surrounding
(konti) or encircles Kalbario. A Maestro emphasized this surrounding of
^Itom ^Afiai before the Pariserom kill Him. The konti is a form of greet
ing and of making sacred or alerting the supernaturals. In the past, when

310

an individual was put to death or a deer killed, it was first surrounded.

So the konti is associated with death, as well as with a greeting. When
the Paskome of different church centers meet, or when they arrive at the
church, they go through a ceremonial greeting which involves this konti
pattern. When images meet, they are dipped or bow three times.

Omom

te botuak, they greet or salute, or embrace each other. Thus, greeting

also is a Mayo ritual symbol and the konti (a special greeting, often
associated with death) as well as bowing are important aspects of the
dominant Easter symbols, death and life.
On the sixth Friday, the three crosses of Kalbario have crowns
of green leaves and red, white, and blue flowers. These green crowns
link with the house crosses and the ?0?ola, two other key nodes in
Easter Week activities. All these three are symbolically killed by the
Pilatom, and therefore provide aspects of the dominant ritual symbol. The
green and red colors to be found on all three interest us at this point. The
? O ?* ola also wears a belt with green and red tassels, a special belt which
is worn by all deceased and is used both by the angels to pull him or her
up to heaven and by the burial party to lower the deceased into the
grave. The wooden swords and knives of the &apakobam are decorated
with red and green paint. Also, many Mayo wagons are painted green
with red wheels. Above the church door is a cross with red, white, and
green bulbs which was lit on November first, the day of the dead. On

311

another occasion, when it was lit, a Mayo friend pointed and said,
"the dead. " On the sixth Friday of Lent, many apakobam have red,
white, and blue flowers on their masksthey obtain red flowers from the
churchand Mary carries red flowers in the procession. Also, when
Christ is crucified, the Pariserom paint red lines on their legs, and when
the house crosses and church cross are replaced after the resurrection,
they are decorated with red flowers. When the house crosses are down,
they are covered with green leaves and red flowers. Mayo color symbol
ism is quite complex and would warrant a monograph within itself; how
ever, without delving further, it is obvious that red and green are closely
associated with death and the dead. Also, before the resurrection, black
and purple are important colors, whereas, for the baptism and meeting of
Christ and Mary, bright colors appear, such as yellows, whites and also
red. In summary, colors play an important part within the dominant
ritual symbols, red and green referring to death, and yellow and white
referring to life.
It would be possible to relate the sixth Friday's procession and
Kalbario to the entire Easter ceremony; however, in noting that four tall
white candles were positioned on the altar this Friday, we shift to a
symbolic node which is of more importance later in Easter Week, the
candles. The extinction of the twelve candles and their relighting during
Tinieblas and the carrying of lighted candles in the procession after the

312

Crucifixion provide extremely important nodes of personnel and sodality

integration. Candles are also placed beside the knocked down house
crosses. During a funeral, a candle is placed beside the house cross. For
the ceremony of the Dead on November first, the graves are decorated with
burning candles. On the night we attended this ceremony, there was a
strong wind and the candles were difficult to keep burning. Among the
participants, there was much discussion about the dead blowing out the
candles. Also, this candlelight is referred to as holy light, and its
absence triggers the shrieking of the 6apakobam during Tinieblas. At
this time, the dark and the creatures of the night, and the dead or spirits
of the dead, pantomimed by the fiapakobam, come into the church. The
lighting of the candle with the rapid exit of the Pariserom symbolizes
returning life and the triumph of light and life over death. Thus, the
candle and its holy light plays an important part within the dominant
ritual symbols.
The running of the ? O ?' ola we have mentioned in some detail;
however, some additional remarks about the eight bowers with crosses
are necessary. This Second Way of the Cross with eight bowers is used
for the processions on Thursday and Friday, the running of the

9 or
O ola,

the procession for Mary, the Crucifixion procession, and the meeting of
Christ and Mary. All these are death processions, and the eight bowers
o ?
represent the tomb of the 1O ola and of Christ. Also, at this time,

313

bowers have been constructed over the house crosses. These bowers are
identical with those constructed for a funeral service. All these bowers
are identical for Mayos and represent tombs just like the four piles of
earth within the church on Good Friday represents a tomb. For a Mayo,
a house cross is mandatory during Lent, especially Holy Week and during
a funeral. It is said to guard or protect the family and is identified with
^Itom

Our Father. At night, angels come down and sit on the

house crosses guarding the family. Thus, funeral activities within the
church on Good Friday are reduplicated in each home and in the eight
bowers of the Second Way of the Cross.

These tie nicely to the dominant

ritual symbols of death and life.

The Crucifixion, funeral mass, and following procession provides
the climax of the ceremonial and of the death aspect of the dominant
ritual symbols. After the Crucifixion, the image of Christ is treated
much as any very important deceased person would be. The Maestro says
the Mass of the Dead, and after it is completed, the procession around
the church with the coffin takes place, just like a funeral procession
which we had observed earlier in the year, except the coffin of Christ
is not taken to the cemetery, but is returned to the church. As the quote
from R. Spicer indicates, this is the archetypal funeral ceremony. This
point may not be over stressed. This activity of the Easter ceremonial
provides the basis for all other funeral ritual taking place during other

times of the year. The ceremonies for the dead within the church before
the first of November are spoken of as doing Kalbario. On Good Friday,
o
within the tomb stand several 'Aiawasim with switches who guard the
coffin and the body of Jesus. Guarding and whipping prove to be two addi
tional ritual symbols which are of importance within the dominant Easter
ritual symbols of death and life. In terms of guarding, the house cross
o
guards the home, the 'Aiawasim guard the crosses of Kalbario, the madrinas guard the ? O ?ola, and the ? Aiawasim guard the tomb and coffin of
Jesus. Also, when a deceased person is taken from the church to the
cemetery, his or her godparents carry four long cane poles to be used as
switches to drive away dogs and beings wishing to harm the deceased.
These four poles are placed in the four corners of the grave and after four
days are removed. The driving away of the 6apakobam from the ^O^ola
and from the tomb of Christ and the driving away of dogs and beings
wishing to harm the deceased is explicitly identified as the same type
of task by Mayos. This means that apakobam, dogs, and beings wish
ing to harm the deceased are in some sense identified. Also, at the time
of the sixth Friday procession and during the Tinieblas ceremony, six
tall vases with cane in them appear on the altar. On the sixth R-iday,
the ''Aiawasim use ?abaso switches rather than the mesquite which they
used earlier. This symbolizes the nearing of the Crucifixion, because the
Pariserom chased Jesus in the mesquite forest and crucified Him down near

315

the river in the ''abaso, Cottonwood, area. Thus, guarding the dead is
an important part of the funeral ritual and provides another aspect of this
dominant ritual symbol.
Also associated with guarding is the whipping, which is for pro
tection; however, it would appear to have other aspects associated with
the return of life. During the Gloria on Saturday, the act of whipping the
earth in front of the church cross unifies the three sodalities, the Pariserom, the Paskome, and the Paskola-deer groups. In other contexts
discussed above, whipping has involved driving away the fiapakobam,
who symbolize spirits, death, and backward and authoritarian social re
lations as well as driving away harmful beings. The madrinas strike the
8apakobam who are trying to "kill, " knock down, the ^O^ola. On the
other hand, during the Gloria when the earth is whipped, the Pariserom
are being burned and the men baptized; flowers are being thrown and
the bells rung. The bells symbolize the voice of the archangel, and
flowers symbolize divine power. It is said that the Paskome work for
santo sewa, grace in heaven. Worshippers bring flowers as offerings
to the images in the church and attach flowers to their house crosses.
Flowers are another important ritual symbol, however, of life rather than
death, although they are important during ceremonies for the dead as
well. The Gloria then represents life and the reintegration of Mayo
society after the destruction of the Pariserom, representing death and

316

authoritarianism. Why should the earth be whipped at this time and also
on the following day as Christ and Mary meet and return to the church?
There are two interrelated reasons. There is a saying in Mayo which
makes this clear. " ^Itom kokoko. bwiva ^itom bwa''anake. " ("When
we die, the earth will eat us. ") The whipping symbolizes the return and
triumph of life over death. The earth which eats up the dead is being
driven off. The Pariserom are destroyed, but the men live again as men
and the baptism symbolizes this rebirth, this becoming men. Secondly,
there is a Mayo rain ceremony in which a frog is whipped to make it rain.
A mestizo acquaintance of ours put some frogs into a pinata. After the
children had broken the pinata revealing the frogs, a heavy rain came up.
This individual was severely criticized by the Mayos and told never to
do that again, as her act had caused the storm. At times the 6apakobam
o
are called frogs. Also it is said that the dead bring the rains, " animam
vukliabare." Thus, there is evidence to believe that the (japakobam are
associated with the rains and thus whipping them, like whipping frogs,
is important in assuring the coming summer rains. Thus, the whipping
of the earth is both symbolic of driving away death and assuring life
and fertility. The final defeat of the Pariserom, first symbolized by the
resurrection of Christ, His return to life, is a defeat of death, of the
authoritarian structure of social relations, and is a reappearance of the
more egalitarian Church and pueblo organization of the summer rains and

317

fertility of the earth, of the flowers, and finally of the men who had for
seven weeks been 6apakobam and Pariserom. In conclusion, the Banari
Easter ceremonial as personnel, roles, material apparatus, and as
activities can be reintegrated into a wholistic unit as binarily opposed
dominant ritual symbols, death and life.

CHAPTER IV
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF INITIATION CEREMONIES
Introduction, Ego Identity
In the following three sections of this monograph, we analyze
three types of explanations of initiation rituals. The analysis continu
ally remains within the framework of previously presented Mayo data.
The procedure utilized within these three chapters involves three steps:
1) the delineation of the assumptions and the hypotheses of the expla
nation, 2) the examination of the Mayo data in terms of the delineated
hypothesis, 3) the evaluation of the logical and explanatory strengths
and weaknesses of the explanations in terms of the Mayo data.
The psychological, or perhaps more accurately, the psychoanalyti
cal type of explanation, has had a long association with anthropology and
recently has been consolidated into the subfield of anthropology, Culture
and Personality. Since it would be impossible for us to evaluate the subfield as a unit (see Barnouw 1963, Singer 1961, and Spiro 1961a, 1961b),
we must restrict our discussion to several articles by John Whiting (1958,
1961, 1962, and 1964) which typify psychoanalytical theory and apply
directly to initiation explanation. More generally, a number of psychoanalytically oriented explanations of initiation ceremonies have been
318

319

developed. Specially, initiation rites have been discussed at length

by Freud (1939) in Moses and Monotheism. Bettelheim (1954) in
Symbolic Wounds. and Mead (1949) in Male and Female. Bettelheim
produces an especially creative argument in which he develops the
idea that each sex is characterized by envy of the other's genitalia.
Initiation ritual, especially the very intense rites of subincision and
in some cases, circumcision, reduces this envy in a symbolic attempt
to acquire sexual organs of the opposite sex and to gain sexual control
over others. Female impersonation may be a mild form of this.
One of the main concerns of Culture and Personality theory,
which is also meaningful within our context, we are the mechanisms
involved in the socio-cultural development of the individual. In other
words, how does the individual become a functioning useful member of
the adult community. Erik Erikson (1963) in Childhood and Society has
attempted to delineate the psychodynamics involved in this process of
becoming adult. He distinguishes eight stages of psychosocial de
velopment and indicates a specific nuclear conflict associated with
each. The stages of the individual's development are conceived of in
a cumulative fashion. Successful integration at earlier stages provides
a basis for the solution of the specific nuclear conflict of each of the
later stages. Erikson (1963:270) sees the stages as being "steps pre
determined in the growing person's readiness to be driven toward, to be

aware of, and to interact with, a widening social radius. " The stages
and the nuclear conflicts are as follows: 1) oral sensory; basic trust vs.
mistrust; the quality of maternal care is the key variable in the outcome
of this crisis, 2) muscularanal; autonomy vs. shame, doubt; this stage
relates to the ratio of love and hate, cooperation and willfulness, free
dom of self-expression and its suppression, 3) loco-motor-genital;
initiative vs. guilt; this is what Freud called the Oedipus complex, 4)
latency; industry vs. inferiority; this stage relates to the child's ability
to learn and to collaborate with others, 5) puberty and adolescence;
identity vs. role confusion, 6) young adulthood; itimacy vs. isolation,
7) adulthood; generativity vs. stagnation, 8) maturity; ego integrity vs.
despair. The stage with which we are concerned is number 5, identity
vs. role confusion; however, I have listed the "Eight Ages of Man" in
order to give a complete picture of Erikson's system and to place the
fifth stage within a context. The concern with this concept of psycho
logical identity or sexual identity and its psycho-social dynamics is at
the basis of the psychological explanation. Since other types of identity
will concern us as we consider the differing types of explanations of
initiation, it is useful to examine more closely Erikson's concept. He
conceives of puberty and adolescence as the reaffirmation and rein
forcement of that which was learned in childhood. It is a period of re
living, in terms of integrating to adult roles, the "battles" of earlier

321

stages. In other words, the adolescent is directly faced with adult roles
to which it is expected he will adjust. He must maintain the personality
integration which he has developed and at the same time work out a life
way, a "career" which will be the blueprint for his adult life. Of course,
the working out of his life way will be in terms of his solutions to the
earlier nuclear conflicts. Within Erikson's framework, an initiation
ceremony can be explained as society's aid to the adolescent in solving
nuclear conflicts, which may have found only a partial solution, and in
forging his life way, "career. " This I take to be the central meaning for
our purposes of Erikson's (1963:261-262) concept of ego identity.
Erikson (1963:262) points out that the major problem at this
point in the personality development is that of role confusion. "Where
this is based on a strong previous doubt as to one's sexual identity,
delinquent and outright psychotic episodes are not uncommon. If diag
nosed and treated correctly, these incidents do not have the same fatal
significance which they have at other ages. " Most adolescents do not
have this problem and their major concern tends to be occupational iden
tification. An overemphasis of this concern results in clannish in-group
behavior and in idolizing heroes, such as movie stars or popular singing
groups. Finally, Erikson (1963:263) argues that the adolescent is seek
ing social values with which to guide his identity. " . . . it is the
ideological outlook of a society that speaks most clearly to the

adolescent who is eager to be affirmed by his peers, and is ready to be

confirmed by rituals, creeds, and programs which at the same time define
what is evil, uncanny, and inimical."
Jules Henry (1966:305) objects bitterly that Erikson is deeply
ethnocentric and not terribly clear in his definition of ego integrity, and
concludes, "Underneath the cliches, Erikson establishes a psycho
analytic vade mecum for an expanding economy, imperious in its job
demands, determined in its confirmity requirements, savage in its
punishment of those who fall." Although his objection is without a
doubt well founded, its emphasis is directed towards the specific person
ality characteristics which Erikson's model values. Henry accepts the
basic assumption that ego identity is of key importance and that different
social systems produce different types of personality characteristics, of
ego identity. These assumptions set the stage for the major psycho
analytic attempt to explain initiation ceremonies.
The Assumptions and Hypotheses of the Psychological Explanation
Whiting's First Set of Assumptions and Hypothesis
Within the psychoanalytical framework, John Whiting has de
veloped several rather specific explanations of initiation ceremonies.
In his early article (Whiting, Kluckhohn, and Anthony 1958), "The
Function of Male Initiation Ceremonies at Puberty, " he clearly

323

delineates his assumptions and hypotheses. His model is based upon

his own Kwoma field research; however, its main line of argument and
verification focuses upon a cross-cultural study and methodology. The
chief concern and problem orientation of the article is the period between
boyhood and manhood. In examining a sample of 55 societies he found
that in 18 this period included one or more of four salient features: 1)
painful hazing by adult males, 2) genital operations, 3) seclusion from
women, 4) tests of endurance and manliness. These four features are
utilized as the indicators of initiation ritual. Since only 18 of the sample
of 55 societies have at least one of these features, the major concern
of the paper focuses upon an attempt to reveal the causal variables
associated with the presence of initiation ritual. In other words, why
do some societies have initiation ceremonies for male adolescents and
others lack them?
Whiting clearly delineates three assumptions. The first involves
the idea that initiation ceremonies reduce both 1) male adolescent hos
tility felt towards their fathers and toward male roles and also 2) de
pendence upon their mothers (Whiting, Kluckhohn, and Anthony 1958:361).
. . . boys tend to be initiated at puberty in those societies
in which they are particularly hostile toward their fathers
and dependent upon their mothers. The hazing of the candidates,
as well as the genital operations, suggests that one function
of the rites is to prevent open and violent revolt against
parental authority at a time when physical maturity would
make such revolt dangerous and socially disruptive. Isolation

324

from women and tests of manliness suggest that another

function of the rites is to break an excessively strong
dependence upon the mother and to ensure identification
with adult males and acceptance of the male role.
Even though the rite may be secret, younger boys do learn something
about it. Therefore, although they have not yet been initiated, the rite
still conditions their behavior and affects their attitudes toward male
authority.
The second assumption relates to the development of a strong,
dependent relationship with the mother. Whiting assumes that this type
of relationship is created by a long period early in the child's life when
he has intimate and exclusive access to his mother. Her entire ex
istence focuses upon his needs. From this type of relationship springs
strong dependence upon the mother and identification with female roles.
The third assumption relates to the development of hostility with
in the child and youth. According to Whiting, if the father terminates
the very intimate relationship between mother and son by replacing the
child, this will produce envy and hostility which will become a social
problem, especially when the child becomes physically strong enough to
challenge the father successfully. Even though some initiation cere
monies take place some time before maturity, Whiting argues that
generally since physical maturity occurs late in adolescence, societal

325

action is necessary at this time to reduce the hostility and aid the young
men in their identification with male roles.
Whiting argues that although these assumptions are of a psycho
analytical nature, they are not exclusively Freudian, and he notes two
modifications. First, dependence for Whiting includes the satisfaction
of numerous needs, such as food, warmth, safety, and freedom from pain,
as well as sexual satisfaction. Second, Oedipal rivalry is not a uni
versal but a variable, which is dependent upon the specific relationship
between the father, mother and son. In other words, in societies where
there is strong competition between father and son for the affections of
mother, Oedipal rivalry will exist, and conversely where the competition
is weak, the rivalry will not exist. Freud, of course, assumed that
Oedipal rivalry was a universal.
Whiting builds his theory on his Kwoma field work. For the first
two or three years, until the child is weaned, it sleeps with the mother
to the exclusion of the father. Also, during this time, the mother ab
stains from sexual intercourse. This is no hardship for many fathers
because the society is polygynous. Also, Whiting notes, it is very
likely that this is no hardship for the mother because nursing the child
satisfies her sexually. If this is true, it means that the mother shows
even more warmth and affection toward the child. Also, during the day
the relationship is close because the child is held by his mother much of

326

the time. This is possible because the other women work in the gardens
and take care of the daily tasks.. The picture is completely changed with
the weaning of the child. His mother tells him that a supernatural re
quires the milk, and in order to enforce the weaning, she rubs her
nipples with the blood-colored sap of the breadfruit tree and places a
slug on each breast. She returns to the gardening, leaving the child in
the care of someone else. Also, at this time, the child is given his own
bed and the husband returns to his wife. Although sexual intercourse
takes place after the child is asleep, it is within the same room. Thus,
Whiting argues, the child will have opportunity for the observation of
intercourse, as well as the obvious feeling of being replaced. Certainly
these occurrences have a deep effect upon the developing child. Whiting
reports that children alternate from sadness and anger to violent temper
tantrums. These events are so important that Whiting, Kluckhohn and
Anthony (1958:362) argue they create the necessity for initiation ritual.
The ritual functions "to put a stop to 1) his wish to return to his
mother's arms and lap, 2) to prevent an open revolt against his father
who has displaced him from his mother's bed, and 3) to ensure identi
fication with the adult males of the society. " Whiting, Kluckhohn and
Anthony (1958:363) see these practices as causally important in the
presence of initiation ritual, "societies with initiation rites should have
similar child-rearing practices to Kwoma , whereas, societies lacking

327

the rite should also lack the exclusive mother-son sleeping arrangements
and post-partum sexual taboo of the Kwoma. " Thus, we have the two in
dependent variables, mother and son sleeping arrangements and post
partum sexual taboo, which cause the dependent one, initiation cere
monies. Whiting, Kluckhohn and Anthony's (1958:364) final hypothesis
is,
Societies which have sleeping arrangements in which
the mother and baby share the same bed for at least a year to
the exclusion of the father and societies which have a taboo
restricting the mother's sexual behavior for at least a year
after childbirth will be more likely to have a ceremony of
transition from boyhood to manhood than those societies where
these conditions do not occur (or occur for briefer periods).
The 55 societies were examined in terms of this hypothesis and
in over 80 percent of the 45 pure cases, societies either having both
independent variables or lacking both, there was agreement with the
hypothesis. If the cases are historically independent (which some
obviously are not), this means that the probabilities are less than one
in one thousand that the above relationship could be obtained by change
(x 2 > 18). Thus, Whiting concludes that his hypothesis is substantiated.
Whiting also analyzes the deviant cases, for example the Ho pi,
who have initiation ceremonies but are negative for the independent
variables. He (Whiting, Kluckhohn and Anthony 1958:367) suggests:
"From clinical studies in our own society, it is clear that even with the
lack of exclusive sleeping arrangements and a minimal post-partum sex

328

taboo, an appreciable degree of dependence upon the mother and rivalry

with the father is generated." The evidence appears to indicate, where
the father has authority and is present, the degree of hostility generated
is not adequate for the existence of initiation ritual. However, in the
Hopi case, where the mother's brother, rather than the father, has the
authority, the hostility level is great enough to require an initiation cere
mony. In summary, Whiting's theory involves two independent variables,
a certain type of sleeping arrangement and post-partum sex taboo, which
when present, produce in the growing children a high degree of de
pendence upon the mother and strong hostility toward the father and
toward male roles in general. The socio-cultural response involves an
initiation ceremony characterized by one or more of the four salient
features: 1) painful hazing by adult males, 2) genital operations, 3)
seclusion from women, 4) tests of endurance and manliness.
The First Set of Relevant Mayo Data
The first question which we must ask ourselves is, does the
Easter ceremonial qualify as a ritual of "transition" from adolescent to
male adult at least for those young men who participate as 6apakobam?
Although in Whiting's first example of a transition ritual, the African
Thonga rite de passage, every boy in order to become a man must par
ticipate, he does not mention a "mandatory" indicator as one of the four

329

salient features of initiation rituals. To the best of my knowledge and

observation, the first two features are absent in the Mayo Easter cere*

monial. Painful hazing by the Ya^uCim (officers) of the fiapakobam and

genital operations may exist; however, this seems very unlikely. If the
Pariserom do run to the ocean, it would be possible that some of these
activities might take place there. However, again, this seems very un
likely and the running itself would qualify as a test of endurance and
manliness, rather than either of the first two indicators. Hazing by
adult males does exist, however in the Yaqui Easter ceremonial and in
Hopi and Hopi-Tewa initiation ceremonies. E. Spicer reports this first
for Pascua in Arizona (1940:259) and second for Potam in Sonora (1954:
153):
A purification ceremony involving whipping is carried out on
Wednesday night of Holy Week each year. Fariseos whip one
another and the maestros in the darkened church, and the
villagers do the same. The whipping is said to "make people
clean, " to purify them from the bad things they have been
doing throughout the year.
Ultimately the church is plunged into darkness. In the darkness
people whip one another, both the ceremonial participants and
the villagers attending. The whipping, which is not violent,
is regarded as a general purification.
R. Spicer (1939:97) reports this occurrence for Pascua in somewhat more
detail. The important aspect to note here is that the fiapakobam (apajekam) are whipped by the Kabos (cabos) or by the adult males of the
sodality.

330

. . . Then it seemed that there was bedlam. The ffapa^iekam

in the middle of the church were lying down. The cabos went
around whipping each one of them with rope or leather whips
and the Sapa Mekam kept howling. The cabos whipped the Pilatos. The cantoras.whipped each other, as did the maestros.
Mothers whipped their children, down to the tiniest. Everyone
was whipping or being whipped.... One person would whip
another, then change places, and as they rose they would shake
hands. Men and women bared their backs and knelt to receive
the lashes. Through it all, could be heard the maestros sing
ing the Miserere. This lasted about ten minutes.
E. Dozier (1966:60) reports the whipping of the young men by the whipper
Kachinas of the Hopi-Tewa. The whipper Kachina strikes the boys' backs
hard several times with a yucca whip. Then the ceremonial father of the
boy takes the last blow, pulling the boy away from the Kachinas. Con
cerning this experience, Dozier (1966:60) says:
The traumatic experiences of the Kachina initiation
are deeply embedded in the memory of all Hano Tewa. Yet,
most of them felt that the whippings were not harmful, but on
the contrary were good for the child. Although no relative will
lay a hand on a child, the whippings of the Kachina are con
sidered to have a favorable effect on the subsequent behavior
of the individual. There were similar expressions of opinion
among those with whom I discussed the subject. "Hopi and
Tewa children are well-behaved because they are disciplined
early in life. " "A human being needs to be broken, like a
horse, before he can become a well-behaved individual. "
Although these first two indicators appear to be absent for Banari
Mayos, it appears to me that the second two are present. The 6apakobam
and the Pariserom in general are secluded from women. First, they are
not permitted to have sexual intercourse during Lent; if they do so their
promise is broken and they must serve an additional year. Second, the

331

Parisero sodality is exclusively a male organization. And third, during

all the ritual contexts until Holy Saturday, the young men are masked and
in this sense are secluded from women as well as from all other nonPariserom. Until their baptism, the only interaction in ritual contexts
which they have with women is the enforcing of the customs and the
attacking of the ^O^ola when they are driven off by the madrinas. Also,
the fourth feature, tests of endurance and manliness, is present in the
Banari Easter ceremonial. The 6apakoba running of Kalbario three times
each of the first-six Fridays of Lent, called the Kojiti and confession,
certainly provides a test of endurance. Often, one may observe one or
more fiapakobam who have dropped behind the rest in the running. Also,
the many nights of praying which the Pariserom must endure would be
another indicator of this feature. In terms of Whiting's four salient
features, the Mayo Easter ceremonial would be classified as a transition
ritual, with the absence of the first two features and the presence of the
latter two features. It carries this classification because Whiting re
quires the presence of only one of the four features.
Since the Easter ceremonial is, for Whiting, an initiation rite,
Mayo culture should include the special sleeping pattern or the post
partum sex taboo or both if his hypothesis is verified. I have no abso
lute evidence showing either the presence or absence of these two vari
ables . We knew Mayo women who were pregnant and still had children

332

at the breast. Also, it was never suggested to us by Mayos that 1)

sexual intercourse would spoil the milk, as is the rationale among many
African groups where the post-partum sex taboo exists, or that 2) any
such taboo existed. From this evidence, we may infer either that the
taboo is often broken, as in the case of the pregnant women with very
small children, or that is does not exist. In fact, Beals (1945:56) pro
vides evidence that a lengthy, over 40 days, post-partum sex taboo does
not exist for Mayos living in the upper river valley. "At the fortieth day
she [the mother] bathes, bathing 3 days in succession. She then sleeps
with her husband and "begins another child.Beals' evidence for upper
river Mayos aids in confirming our suspicions that lower river Banari
Mayos lack a lengthy post-partum sex taboo. The evidence concerning
the type of sleeping arrangement is somewhat more difficult to evaluate.
During daylight hours, small children are placed in wooden cradles and
rocked by anyone who happens to pass by, or they are held in the arms of
their mothers. What happens at night, I do not know. We have observed
both whole families in one bed, as well as families where each person
had his own bed. Thus, it seems unlikely that the type of sleeping
arrangement which Whiting has in mind is anything like a universal
culture pattern for Mayos. And if it is practiced by some, it would
likely be a rather unstructured shift for the child from the bed of the

333

mother to the bed of an older sibling. Beals (1945:57) mentions much the
same evidence which we observed.
Usually infants are kept in a cradle resembling an open-topped
crate made of sticks and slung by ropes from the roof beams.
More rarely, an improvised hammock is made of two ropes held
apart by sticks with a blanket wrapped and pinned about them.
. . . Small children either are carried on the hip, slung in a
rebozo tied over the opposite shoulder, or carried in the arms.
Thus, Beals does not tell us definitely whether the infants are kept in the
cradles all night or if they sleep with their mothers. Although if they do
sleep with the mother, it seems likely that they often share her with the
father. Although the evidence is not absolute, it seems very likely that
neither of Whiting's independent variables are present; however, the de
pendent variable, the initiation ceremony, is present. Thus, Whiting's
first hypothesis in the strict sense is not verified. This still leaves us
with the 5apakoba sex orientation and pantomime of sexual intercourse,
as well as their hostility toward Jesus Christ, unexplained. Whiting's
theoretical framework has forced us to realize that these traits require
explanation; however, his hypothesis appears inadequate. On the other
hand, if sexual intercourse should take place in the bush where the infant
is not present to observe it, would this not be functionally almost the
same as the post-partum sex taboo, at least for the infant? Also, if the
father was often absent or if the sleeping arrangement was informal but
with the infant often sleeping with the mother because of ease in feeding,
would this not be functionally for the infant much like Whiting's

334

exclusive mother-child sleeping arrangement ? I do not know where inter

course takes place, but do know that, "hante huvapo, " (let's go to the
bush) when said to a woman not pne's wife is very bad, because it means
let's go to the bush and have intercourse. So it is possible that this
also is the pattern for a married couple and that the infant would not have
opportunity for observation nor perhaps would he have the inclination or
understanding for observation between the time of birth and two years of
age, the time when the Kwoma child is weaned. What this all means is
not that Mayo children are not deeply devoted to their mothers and harbor
some hostility towards their fathers, but that Whiting's independent vari
ables are not adequately delineated to be conceived as of generating the
only need for initiation ceremonies.
Whiting's Second and Third Hypotheses
Whiting's (Burton and Whiting 1961:85-95) second explanatory
model utilizes quite different variables than the first. In this paper, he
is concerned with the development of sex identity through learning by
identification. The driving impulse in learning by identification is
status envy. Whiting (Burton and Whiting 1961:85) summarizes this as
follows: "The process of identification consists of the covert practice of
the role of an envied status. Identification consists of learning a role
by rehearsal in fantasy or in play, rather than by actual performance, and

335

this rehearsal is motivated by envy of the incumbent of a privileged

status." Status envy exists when individuals in the status have access
to a limited resource which is desired by the individual aspiring to the
desired status. A resource may be almost anything such as food, water,
optimum temperature, freedom from pain and what Whiting (Burton and
Whiting 1961:86) calls "derived symbolic resources such as love, solace,
power, information and success. " This concept of a resource appears
similar to that of dependence. If the mother withholds anything which the
child desires, thus a resource, the child envies her control and in gener
al her status. In envying her status he identifies with it and thus learns
the female role. The major hypothesis suggested at this point by Whiting
(Burton and Whiting 1961:86) is as follows:
If there is a status that has privileged access to a desired
resource, the incumbent or occupant of such a status will be
envied by anyone whose status does not permit him the control
of, and the right to use, the resource. Status envy is then a
motivational component of status disability, and such moti
vation leads to learning by identification.
The persons with whom the child identifies are those who control resources
some of which they deny to the child. He envies their status and there
fore learns it in hopes that he too can control the resources denied to
him. Maximal identification therefore is not with the persons the child
loves, but with those who deny him cherished resources. These may be
and in fact often are the same persons.

336

Whiting then applies the above explanatory model to crosscultural data. The independent variables become the individuals who con
trol the distribution of resources during two periods of identification,
infancy (characterized by primary identification) and childhood (by secon
dary identification). For infancy, the best indicator of resource distri
bution is sleeping arrangements. In his sample of 64 societies, Whiting
notes that in 36 the infant sleeps exclusively with the mother, and in 28
either the infant sleeps with both mother and father or in a few cases, he
has his own bed. In the first 36 cases, he learns and identifies with the
female role because his mother is "all powerful" and "all-important" in
terms of resource allocation. On the other hand, where the parents sleep
together, the infant tends to identify with the adult status and learn the
adult role. After weaning and the infant becomes a child, Whiting argues
that marital residence provides an indicator of resource allocation. That
is to say, with patrilocal residence, the child identifies with male roles
because a group of males hold the prestige and power. With matrilocal
residence, a group of women hold the envied statuses. And with equilocal residence (alternation of residence or a new household set up) sex
identity is of little importance because neither sex has obvious access to
resources. From the six possible combinations of indicators, Whiting
selects two for primary interest, both with exclusive mother-child
sleeping arrangements, and one with patrilocal residence, and the other

337

with matrilocal. In the cases with exclusive sleeping arrangements and

matrilocal residence, both the primary and secondary identifications of
the male child will not be with the male role but with the female. In this
case, the male should have some symbolic female role. The couvade,
where the husband also goes to bed when his wife is in labor, might
provide such a symbolic dramatization. The sample of societies tend to
confirm this hypothesis. Out of the 12 societies with the couvade, 10
have the exclusive sleeping arrangement and 9 have matrilocal residence,
with 90 percent of the cases conforming to the prediction. The other case,
in which patrilocal residence is coupled with the exclusive sleeping
arrangement, is of great interest to us. In this case, we have primary
female identification and secondary male identification. Whiting now
wishes to argue that this type of cross-sex identification is a more valid
causal explanation of initiation rites than his earlier dual factors, ex
clusive sleeping arrangements and a long post-partum sex taboo. His
(Burton and Whiting 1961:90) hypothesis now is: "In societies with maxi
mum conflict in sex identity, e.g., where a boy initially sleeps ex
clusively with his mother and where the domestic unit is patrilocal and
hence controlled by men, there will be initiation rites at puberty which
function to resolve this conflict in identity. " Psychologically the
earlier female identity is being reduced and the secondary male identity
is being firmly established, through the ritual of the initiation ceremony.

338

The cross-cultural data also appears to support this hypothesis; however,

Whiting's indicators of initiation ritual appear to have changed to include
only elaborate ceremonies with genital operations. He is not at all clear
on this point, however, Thirteen societies in 64 have elaborate initi
ation ceremonies. Of the thirteen, twelve have patrilocal residence and
all thirteen have exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements. Whiting
says that statistically the association is fantastic, with 87-1/2 percent
of the societies falling according to prediction.
The Second Set of Relevant Mayo Data
In relating the Mayo material to this second model of Whiting, we
must concern ourselves with judgments in terms of several indicators.
First, is the Easter ceremonial still to be classed as an initiation rite,
and second, what form does the allocation of resources take, especially
in regard to sleeping arrangements and residence patterns ? If Whiting is
insisting upon genital operations and circumcision rites as the only indi
cator of initiation ceremonies, then the Easter ceremonial does not quali
fy as an initiation rite, because it does not involve circumcision. This
means that initiation ceremonies did not exist in the entire New World
because male genital mutilation is absent in both North and South
America (Whiting 1964:511). Although Whiting may insist upon a strict
interpretation of initiation as including genital mutilation, this is
probably a manoeuver to increase the association between cross-sex

339

identification and what he calls initiation rites, but which appear as

complex circumcision rites. In this article (Burton and Whiting 1961) the
sample of societies and the deviant cases are not included; thus the
reader has no way of telling what manoeuvering is taking place. Whiting
does note that this case material will be presented in some detail in a
future monograph. In order to maintain a consistent strategy, I feel we
must retain the four features or indicators of initiation rites, rather than
restricting initiation ceremonies to rituals which include circumcision
rites. My argument is based upon the absence of any ritual except
circumcision classified as initiation rites, if we restrict ourselves to the
single indicator. This is not useful nor justified, in my opinion. If we
include the four features, which I feel we must, then the Banari Easter
ceremony should be classified as an initiation rite. The exclusive
mother-son sleeping arrangement we have discussed in some detail
above, where we concluded that it seems quite unlikely that there is a
formalized or strong cultural pattern of this type. If this cultural pattern
should exist, it would be quite atypical for North and Central America.
Of 25 North American Indian tribes, only two, the Chiricahua and the
Tarascans exhibit the exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangement (Whit
ing 1964:532). Of the groups which Whiting surveys and which are
closest to the Mayos, the Papagos, Tarahumaras, and Mixtecans, all
have a father, mother, and infant sleeping pattern. Thus, it appears

340

reasonable to conclude that Whiting's main indicator of infant resource

allocation controlled by the mother does not exist for Mayos. Residence
pattern provides the main indicator of child resource allocation control.
For the existence of cross-sex identification, patrilocal residence is
necessary. Beals (1945:63) says for upper river valley Mayos within the
recent past, "residence was always patrilocal. " The present day pattern
is not so clear, however (Beals 1945:61). "Present marriage customs are
scarcely distinguishable from those of lower-class Mexicans except per
haps that marriage is more often legalized among the Mayos." Con
cerning Potam Yaquis Spicer (1954:59) sa^s,
. . . The traditional Yaqui wedding ceremony symbolizes patri
local residence, the bride and her parents coming to the groom's
house for the final consummating ritual. However, patrilocal
residence is not practiced any more frequently than matrilocal
residence at present. There is no other emphasis on the male
lineage in inheritance or otherwise, except for some tendency
for children to be known by the Spanish surnames of their fathers,
rather than their mothers. It may be said that the family pattern
is bilateral.
Our observations indicate that neither patrilocal or matrilocal residence
are universal patterns. A statistical pattern may exist. This we would
expect to be patrilocal residence; however, the families we knew appeared
to practice what Whiting calls equilocal residence. In summary of the
Mayo data, neither indicator of cross-sex identification exists as a
universal pattern amongst Mayos; however, both may exist to some de
gree amongst some families. Since the Banari Mayo Easter ceremony can

341

be classified as an initiation ceremony and Whiting's independent vari

able, or the indicators of the independent variable, is not present, it is
difficult to accept Whiting's second hypothesis.
General Evaluation of the Psychological Explanation
Are we justified, in terms of the above evidence and conclusions
that neither Whiting's first nor his second hypothesis adequately ex
plains the Mayo ceremonial, in rejecting the logical framework and
underlying structure of Whiting's and in general the psychoanalytical
explanation? Beyond a doubt, we are justified in rejecting Whiting's
indicators as adequate in a situation as subtle and complex as that of the
Banari Mayos. Essentially, this throws doubt upon the usefulness of his
indicators within most socio-cultural contexts, because I am sure the
Mayo situation is not unique in being complex. This means that his
cross-cultural associations may be rather meaningless. Or at least, I
for one, am not entirely sure what it is he is measuring. Basically, I
take this to be the point of Young's (1962, 1965) and Cohen's (1964a,
1964b) argument against Whiting, which we will discuss in the next
section of this monograph. Even though the instrument is not subtle, do
we reject the entire logical framework? Why should the crucifixion of
Christ be such an important symbol that an extremely important ceremony
is constructed around it? For traditional Christians, amongst other
things the crucifixion of Christ represents His sacrifice for man's sins.

342

Only through the sacrifice of the god-man are human sins forgiven and do
we become acceptable before God. The traditional remark is, "He died
for our sins. " On the other hand, the Easter ceremonial carries very
little of this meaning for Mayos. People were constantly reminding us,
"the Pariserom, the Pilato, crucify Christ." But they never said, "Christ
dies for our sins." Spicer (1964:28) also makes a somewhat similar ob
servation for Yaquis,
Me parece, en cambio, que es un ejemplo de un sistema religioso
que no es cat61ico en su fundamento porque no tiene orientacion
individualxstica hacia la salvacion, ni tiene enfasis sobre los
castigos y las recompensas despues de la muerte. Las orientaciones mas importantes del sistema yaqui-mayo estan, salvo en
un aspecto, renidas con las orientaciones catolicas.
Also, there is the "running" and "death" of the ? O ? ola. During
the 6apakobam running against the ^O^ola there was a great deal of
laughing, joking, calling and shoving and pushing amongst the men
following the procession. Especially the laughing is of interest. Mayos
have at least three types of laugh: 1) a very tense embarrassed laugh
occurring in situations of extreme social tension, such as when meeting
strangers, 2) a warmer humorous laugh occurring when they are among
close friends and good company, and 3) a loud, more raucous laugh,
quite unMayo, perhaps characterizing a reduction in inhibitions, oc
curring especially when individuals are drunk as well as during the
running of the Capakobam against the ^O^ola. A slightly similar release
of tension took place after the sixth Friday procession just before Holy

343

Week. Why should the Easter Sunday meeting of Christ and Mary, their
return to the church, and the final feeding of the young men be so im
portant? Why should the Sapakobam be so concerned with sexual
matters ?
If we accept Cohen's (1966) argument that Whiting is making
different assumptions and presenting a different model than he, Cohen,
presents, then it follows that the weighting and evaluation of data will
be quite different. It is possible that both anthropologists are viewing
different sides of the same coin. If this be true, we must attempt to
structure the Mayo data in terms of Whiting's underlying rationale in
order to fairly evaluate his contribution. Ego and sex identity must be
built into the growing human being before he or she can properly become
part of the socio-cultural matrix of the society. If we conceive of this
development as a constant adjustment between status envy and identi
fication with a role on one hand and hostility felt towards successfully
competing roles on the other, does this tell us anything about the specific
form of and need for the Banari Easter ceremonial? In other words, we
see status envy and hostility as two sides of the same coin, that of
building a personality with adequate ego and sex identity to function
successfully within a specific society.
In order to test these ideas we turn to a summary of the data
available on Mayo infant and child rearing. Our data on the lower river

344

valley agree with the observations of Beals (1945:58-59) for the upper
river valley.
. . . Children are rarely punished and receive a great deal of
what we would call spoiling. . . . As a general thing, parents
are very fond of their children. . . . much of their important
education comes from their own family. It is in no way forced.
The children are with the adults of the household a great deal
and do not play much with other children except those of fami
lies dwelling close by. They early start to imitate the actions
of their elders. Girls soon spin thread, begin to use the metate,
and so on, but there is little compulsion until they are old
enough to be assigned tasks. Small girls often make crude
dolls.... Boys accompany their fathers at an early age and
are encouraged but not forced to assist. By adulthood, usually,
they have acquired most of their father's limited stock of
knowledge and skill.
The pastimes are almost entirely limited to imitations
of their elders. In outlying villages boys may hunt alone or in
groups for small game. In warm weather, they may go swimming.
They seem, however, to have no formal games.
We shall divide the Mayo data into two categories: infancy, the period
of primary identification, and childhood, the period of secondary identi
fication. The Mayo child is weaned between the ages of two and three.
For example, two of the children which I observed especially carefully
were two and two and one-half years old. The one, a little boy who was
sickly, still took most of his nourishment from his mother's milk, whereas
the other, a little girl, had been weaned and could walk quite well. The
boy was either left at home or carried by his mother. This agrees nicely
with Beals' (1945:57) observation, "Children usually are nursed until
about the age of 2, although occasionally one may see a child as old as

345

5 receiving the breast. After being weaned, children receive the same
food as adults." During infancy, Beals notes that the child is swaddled
rather completely. Although, at home, the little boy which I spoke of
above wore only a little shirt or was naked. On a trip, his mother used
a bit of cloth as a diaper. When he defecated his mother changed him
and washed out the diaper with a bit of water and used it again when it
was dry. He was not punished or scolded at this time. Rather they said,
"poor little thing, " and comforted him. During the period of observation,
the father handled the boy very little and then quite self-consciously,
even though he is the father of a number of children. It also was a gener
al observation that during infancy children were very seldom handled by
their fathers. Fathers appear quite self-conscious around infants.
Infants are very seldom physically punished. In fact, the only case of
physical punishment observed was when a mother slapped an infant for a
temper tantrum during a social situation when both mother and child were
quite tense. This was an extremely unusual case. In summary, Mayo
infancy would appear to develop a deep dependency and relationship
between mother and child. If the child becomes upset, the mother simply
him or her to her breast. The father then would appear as an intruding
figure toward which the child might develop some hostility. The mother
would function as the chief allocator of resources; therefore, the child
would identify with her and learn the female role.

346

Although not specifically observed, there is no reason to believe

that weaning is terribly traumatic for Mayo children. Slightly before this
period, when the little boys are beginning to learn to walk, they are per
mitted to wear either a little shirt or go naked. This period lasts until
they are perhaps 4 or 5 years of age. This is not true of little girls, who
are fully clothed at all times. Children are caressed and loved and, in
two cases, little boys of about two and one-half years of age were ca
ressed on the genitals. In one case, it was the boy's mother who was
fondling him in a nervous manner because two strange men were in the
house. It seems likely that she was seeking security as much as loving
her child. The second case was an adult male neighbor who stopped by,
spoke to the boy, tickled him in the genitals, and then continued on his
way. Whether this pattern could relate in any way to the fiapakobam
interest in the human phallus and in sexual intercourse in general, I have
no idea. On the other hand, it is an odd custom for a culture which is as
embarrassed and prudish about sex as Mayos are. The switch from ex
clusive mother-infant relation to child-other relationships is much like
the above example. Neighbors, other adult female members of the family,
or even older siblings or cousins, generally female, slowly take over
part of the care of the child. Thus, the shift to childhood does not appear
to be extremely traumatic. However, for the child, the mother no longer
controls the resources as she did in infancy. The father becomes the head

347

of the household and the allocator of resources, at least for the male
child. Mayo households are much like Yaqui (Spicer 1954:59) in that the
oldest person, whether male or female, is the ultimate authority and
allocator of resources.
The organization of a given household is usually based
on seniority. That is, the oldest man and woman of the group
are referred to and regarded as the ultimate authority, if they
are not senile. Either the woman or the man may be dominant
in the affairs of the household. There is no tendency to empha
size the authority or importance of one sex over the other.
As the male child grows, the importance of the old persons increases; how
ever, during his period of secondary identification, his father's role is
the one with which he identifies (see also Beals 1945:58-59). "Boys
accompany their fathers at an early age and are encouraged but not
forced to assist." This means that some cross-sex identification may
exist for Mayo boys and young men necessitating the initiation ceremony,
which in fact exists. Also, some hostility towards the male role may re
inforce what earlier hostility might have existed because the father is
also responsible for punishment of the child. First, the father counsels
the child with "good words." Only after the child has disobeyed the
counsel three.times is he physically punished. At this point, he may be
spanked; however, it should not involve more than three blows. More
than three indicates that the spanking is not instructional for the child,
but is revenge or vengeance on the part of the father. Also, in the past,

348

children were made to kneel on garbanzos, chickpeas, before the house

cross as a punishment. Thus, as the boy grows into a young man, he
feels both status envy and hostility toward his father and the male role.
Also, as he becomes a youth, decisions involving him become more im
portant and the old people in the household, if any exist, become more
important in terms of resource allocation and punishment. Thus, the
youth as well as young adults, feel both status envy and hostility
towards the old people. Old people within Mayo society are highly re
spected and obeyed. Their semi-authoritarian manner creates some hos
tility among young adults who feel they are old enough to make their own
decisions. Additional insecurity is created due to the fact that in some
degree old people are respected because they are feared. An old person
to have lived as long as he or she has must have a great deal of super
natural power. The old woman, hamvo^ola, and the old man, ^O^ola,
o
are often called vo otuli, which means good old person. This latter term
reflects the loss of female sex status of the old woman as, after child
bearing is over, she becomes very much like the old man. In summary,
Mayo child rearing has been divided into two periods, infancy with prima
ry identification and childhood with secondary identification. In infancy,
the child's mother controls the resources which concern the child. Thus,
..

he envies her status, identifies with her, and learns her role. His
father in many ways successfully competes with the child for his

349

mother's resources; therefore, the infant develops a slight hostility

toward the male role. There is a smooth transition to childhood; however,
in childhood, the tables are turned, creating what Whiting calls cross-sex
identification. During this period, the young boys' father replaces the
mother in terms of resource control. Thus, the young boys feels status
envy, identification, and learns the male role. However, some hostility
is also created, as his father also functions as his authoritarian and dis
ciplinarian. As the boy grows older, part of this authoritarian and disci
plinarian role is taken over by the oldest person in the household, who
often in fact is the boy's father. If it should happen to be an old woman,
she will have become almost male in her role. Thus, for the young male
adult, additional status envy, as well as hostility toward the male role
exists. In conclusion, the male child shifts from a very permissive warm
infancy with his mother to a still somewhat permissive, but greatly more
authoritarian and disciplinarian childhood directed by his father. As he
matures, the oldest person within the household assumes part of the
authoritarian and disciplinarian role. Whiting wishes to argue that initi
ation ceremonies solve this personality confusion by reducing the hos
tility toward the male role and reducing the primary female identity. Can
the Banari Mayo Easter ceremonial be conceived of as functioning in this
manner?

350

The first two features of initiation ceremonies, a painful hazing

by adult males, and genital operations, Whiting argues, reduce intense
hostility toward male roles and thus avoid a revolt of young adult males.
Since the Mayo child is not replaced from an exclusive sleeping ar
rangement by his father, intense hostility does not develop; thus we pre
dict the first two features of initiation rites are not required for Mayos.
In fact, they do not exist; the prediction is verified. The second two
features, seclusion from women and tests of endurance and manliness,
break the bonds with the mother and refocus identity to the male role.
Since the Mayo child has primary identification with the mother and some
slight hostility toward the male role, we should expect that the second
two features would exist for the Banari Easter ceremonial. Our expec
tations are fulfilled.
Does Whiting's approach give us any additional insight? It sug
gests several several interesting ideas about the structure of the Easter
ceremonial. No Mayo ever suggested all these ideas to us in this form.
However, logically they make a great deal of sense in terms of the data
which we have presented. In the sense that we are discussing the logi
cal structure of the young Mayo male personality, much of this structure
would not be conscious to the average Mayo anyway. Also, the cere
monial may function in this manner for some, but not all Mayos. Beyond
a doubt, many of these ideas could be tested through the use of

351

projective testing; however, as our research was not basically culture

and personality oriented, I do not have any of this type of information or
verification. In the Easter ceremonial, the image of Mary is referred to
as Our Mother. It is attended by young women in the childbearing years.
Also, the little angels and their madrinas are called the Three Marias.
The image of Mary welcomes Christ back to the Church on Easter Sunday.
Thus, and I am sure this agrees with Mayo thought, Mary, Our Mother,
is associated with little children and with open welcoming arms. She is
the symbol of the permissive loving mother, which the young man knew as
?
?
?
a child. Christ, Our Father ( Itom Adai rUsi) is the patron saint of the

Pariserom. He demands the seven weeks of difficult ceremonial labor

from each member of the sodality. If one does not keep his contract with
Him, he must serve an additional year as a Parisero. Thus, the image of
the society with which the young initiate identifies is male and is more
authoritarian than is the image of Mary. Christ's counterpart, ?'Itom ?AiSai

'o'ola,

proves to be even more strict than does 'itom ^A&ai 'usi. He

sends punishment upon those who do not obey him. Both are identified
with the sun, which burns up the Pariserom on Holy Saturday. It is said
that if one disobeys God he will burn you up like the sun withers and
burns up the plants in the earth, 'itom 'A6ai 'usi is the symbol of the
somewhat permissive but rather authoritarian father with whom the initiate
identified as a child and young boy. 'itom 'A&ai

'o'ola symbolizes the

352

old people who demand respect and obedience of the initiate as he be

comes a young man.
What takes place in the Banari Easter ceremonial? First, the
Pariserom are known as the Kostumbre, the guardians of the customs.
They now can act out the envied role of disciplinarian which they do
while observing that all the customs are properly kept. Secondly, they
may act out the envied male role, even going so far as pantomiming
marriage, sexual intercourse, and curing. In acting out the role, they
are identifying with it. This is part of Whiting's (Burton and Whiting
1961:85) status envy hypothesis. "The process of identification consists
of the covert practice of the role of an envied status. Identification con
sists of learning a role by rehearsal in fantasy, or in play rather than by
actual performance, and this rehearsal is motivated by envy of the in
cumbent of a privileged status. " Thus, in pantomime, the tiapakobam
are learning how to become males, are learning the adult male role.
Thirdly, their patron saint with whom they identify, to whom they pray,
for whom they labor, whom they adore, is a symbol of the male status
with which they seek identification. Fourthly, they crucify ? Itom ?Afiai
^Usi. In doing so, they act out, dramatize the hostility which they feel
towards their fathers and towards the male role in general. They can do
this because they are Pariserom and not men. Ultimately, Christ arises
and 'itom ^Aai ^O^ola punishes the Pariserom by burning. However,

353

through baptism, the men are saved. Thus, the hostility which the young
men feel toward the male role can be safely reduced, and through its re
duction the way is open to their becoming adult men. Their sex identity
can be complete. Fifthly, they also kill, knock down the
course, the

O ? ola. Of

ola symbolizes the old people. The young men, the ?5apa-

kobam, who are about to marry and set up households Gust about this time
in their lives), are intensively coming under the influence and control of
the old people. They are beginning to feel hostility and status envy
towards persons whom they respect and also fear as supernaturally very
powerful. The bapakobam are given the privilege of knocking down the
*?rO? ola, and in doing so, they reduce not only their hostility, but that of
the young adults of the community, toward the old people. This explains
the laughing, joking, and raucous behavior of the young adult men follow
ing the procession. Ultimately, the ^O^ola returns from the dead and is
baptized. The dapakobam are burned and their impersonators become men.
With the hostility toward the old people reduced, the initiates can truly
become men. And lastly, the young men emerge as newly integrated per
sonalities. In Erikson's terminology, they have successfully overcome
the nuclear conflict of role confusion which characterizes this stage of
puberty and adolescence and now are prepared in terms of personality
identity to participate in the adult world. The baptism symbolizes this
birth of the integrated adult male personality. As the godparents remove

354

the face scarf of the apakobam, they drop to the ground resting on their
knees and hands. Their legs are somewhat pulled up under their bodies and
their heads are down so they almost touch the ground. Their heads are
covered with colored scarves and at times their blanket rests over their
backs. The scarves and blankets, as well as the earth beneath them,
symbolizes the womb of the mother. They are in a fetal position within
the womb of their mothers. The gloria symbolizes their birth (or rebirth).
The special running group bursts out of the church, also called Our Mother
and in this case also symbolizing the womb. They (amongst, of course,
many other things) symbolize birth and are emerging from the womb of
Our Mother, the Church. Flowers are thrown, the bells peal, firecrack
ers pop and everyone shouts, "Gloria! " It is the birth of the young men
which they are celebrating. During the celebration the young men are
baptized. "The baptism of the Pariserom is just like that of a little child, "
people said to us. After this, the young men emerge from the Church, the
womb, and are taken by the godparents to the church cross, symbolizing
Our Father, where they pray. Immediately after the birth, respect is
shown a male image, symbolizing their identification with the adult male
role. Whiting also argues that initiation ceremonies reduce the primary
identification with the female role. What happens for Mayos on Easter
Sunday? Christ (^Itom ^A?5ai ^Usi) returns as do the Pariserom. Christ
and Mary ('itom ^Aye) embrace, and everyone returns to the church.

355

These acts would appear not to symbolize a complete reduction of the

identification with the female role, but an ultimate return to the arms of
Our Mother and to the womb, the Church. Also to cap this off, we have
the feeding of the young men by the Bahi Mariam, symbolizing the period
of infancy when the child relied completely upon his mother. This feeding
has a great deal of symbolic import and power, especially for the women.
It appears that at this point, at least for Banari Mayos, we must disagree
with Whiting and argue for a dynamic personality integration. The seven
weeks of ceremonial labor as a member of a male sodality have ade
quately imprinted the male role upon the personality of the young man.
At this point he is reminded that part of the male role is a dynamic ad
justment with the female role. So that the Easter Sunday ritual symbolizes
an identification with a broader type of unit than male sex identity. I be
lieve there is evidence for this position in the fact that Mayo males have
an unusually acute understanding and empathy for the female role. When
we begin to talk of a broader type of integration than that of sex identity
and personality integration, our emphasis and basic assumptions are
shifting away from a psychoanalytical or a culture and personality
framework and explanation. We begin to talk of identification with social
units which carries us directly to the explanatory models of van Gennep
(1960), Cohen (1964a, 1964b), and Young (1962, 1965). This, then, is
the orientation of the following section.

CHAPTER V
SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF INITIATION CEREMONIES
Introduction, Social Identity
As the concept of identity broadens from personality integration
and sex identity to include identity with groups rather than integration
within the individual, we shift from a culture-personality orientation
to a social structural-functional one. This theoretical orientation has
been an extremely popular one within anthropology during the last
twenty or thirty years and therefore may not be summarized within one
or several references. Emile Durkheim, amongst many others such as
Auguste Comte, was one of the key figures in its development. Durk
heim argued that societies and social facts could be conceived of as
if they had an independent existence. They are concrete and therefore
can be manipulated like any natural fact. Thus, a natural science of
society was not only possible, but in fact should be the goal of the
social sciences. These ideas were developed and applied to modern
anthropology by A. R. Radcliffe-Brown. His thought, along with that
of B. Malinowski, provided the main impetus for the development of
the structural-functional school of modern anthropology. As we shall
see in the following paragraphs, van Gennep also implicitly accepts
356

Durkheim's concept of a social fact, although I suspect Durkheim's final

statement of the argument was later than van Gennep's book, The Rites of
Passage, which was originally written in 1908 in French. The under
lying structure of a rite of passage appears to be a social fact for van
Gennep. He departs from considerable data and argues that this structure
or pattern is the same for all rites of this type, and also therefore that
the function is similar if not identical. Thus, van Gennep had suc
cessfully applied the concept which was to become the foundation of
social anthropology before it was specifically delineated by Durkheim.
In this type of explanation, then, societies and social facts become the
basic type of units, the given. Therefore, within this section, we con
ceive of initiation ceremonies as implementing the participants' identifi
cation with some type of social unit. It would be impossible to consider
all the studies of this nature, so we must focus upon two recent explana
tory models, those of Frank Young (1962 and 1965) and of Yehudi Cohen
(1964a and 1964b) which are quite pertinent examples of this tradition.
In order to examine somewhat more specifically the sociological
model of initiation rituals, we turn to the first clearly delineated study
of this nature, that of van Gennep (1960) The Rites of Passage. He is
concerned with the examination of a pattern which he believed is basic
to all rites or ceremonies associated with the passage from one social
group or status to another. He believes that this pattern explains why

358

certain rituals are performed in a specific order. There is no doubt that

van Gennep (1960:189 and 191) had a sociological function in mind when
he conceived this pattern of rites of passage.
We have seen that an individual is placed in various
sections of society, synchronically and in succession; in order
to pass from one category to another and to join individuals in
other sections, he must submit, from the day of his birth to that
of his death, to ceremonies whose forms often vary but whose
function is similar.
. . . Our interest lies not in the particular rites but in their
essential significance and their relative positions within cere
monial wholesthat is, their orderFor this reason, some
rather lengthy descriptions have been included in order to demon
strate how rites of preliminary or permanent separation, tran
sition, and incorporation are placed in relation to one another
for a specific purpose. Their positions may vary, depending on
whether the occasion is birth or death, initiation or marriage,
but the differences lie only in matters of detail. The underlying
arrangement is always the same. Beneath a multiplicity of forms,
either consciously expressed or merely implied, a typical pattern
always recurs: the pattern of the rites of passage.
Van Gennep relies heavily in his explanation upon the sacred, profane
distinction which also was utilized intensively by Durkheim. Van Gennep
argues that societies on the "lower levels of civilization" are character
ized by sacred social groups, whereas modem societies consist of profane
social groups. Since 1) life is a constant transition or movement from one
role to another, e.g., birth, adolescence, marriage, and death, among
others, such as movement from one class to another, and 2) social
groups are sacred for most societies except modern ones, then life will
be filled with many ceremonial preparations necessary for admittance to

359

another social group. The ritual protects the individual as well as the
society by transferring him from the profane to the sacred realm before
or while he is being introduced into the new social status. Thus,
neither the social group, which is sacred, nor the individual are harmed
by the transition. Thus, rites of passage function to protect both the
individual and the society during the transitional periods which are
necessary in the life of individuals.
The categories and concepts which embody them operate
in such a way that whoever passes through the various positions
of a lifetime one day sees the sacred where before he has seen
the profane, or vice versa. Such changes of condition do not
occur without disturbing the life of society and the individual,
and it is the function of rites of passage to reduce their harmful
effects, (van Gennep 1960:13)
There is no doubt here that van Gennep conceives of rites of passage as
functioning to maintain the society through assisting individuals in their
identification with the new social role which they must play if the socie
ty is to continue existing. Quite explicitly he refers to this pattern of
rites as associated with passage through both physical space, as when a
stranger is incorporated into a new community, or social space, such as
the movement from adolescent to young adult or life to death. Also, he is
quite definite that he is referring to sociological and not physiological
space or age. He carefully distinguishes between physiological return
from childbirth and social return from childbirth, and between physical
puberty and "social puberty" and shows that often the two are not even

360

closely related in time. Thus, without a doubt he (van Gennep 1960:48)

is concerned with the social function of ceremonies which "serve as
actual bridges, chains, or linksin short, to facilitate the changing of
condition without violent social disruptions or an abrupt cessation of
individual and collective life. "
The underlying pattern which van Gennep associates with rites of
passage is not at all complex and includes three divisions: separation
from the present role, transition, and incorporation into the new role.
This pattern then is the social fact which he argues may be found with
all ritual, functioning to aid both individuals and the society through
times of trandition.
. . . Ihave triedt o assemble here allthe ceremonial patterns
which accompany a passage from one situation to another or from
one cosmic or social world to another. Because of the importance
of these transitions, I think it legitimate to single out rites of
passage as a special category, which under further analysis may
be sub-divided into rites of separation, transition rites, and
rites of incorporation. These three subcategories are not de
veloped to the same extent by all peoples or in every ceremonial
pattern. Rites of separation are prominent in funeral ceremonies,
rites of incorporation at marriages. Transition rites may play an
important part, for instance, in pregnancy, betrothal, and initi
ation; or they may be reduced to a minimum in adoption, in the
delivery of a second child, in remarriage, or in the passage from
the second to the third age group. Thus, although a complete
scheme of rites of passage theoretically includes preliminal
rites (rites of separation), liminal rites (rites of transition),
and postliminal rites (rites of incorporation), in specific in
stances these three types are not always equally important or
equally elaborated, (van Gennep 1960:10-11).

361

Without a great deal of additional argumentation, I feel it is clear

that the Banari Easter ceremonial functions as a rite of passage. This
does not mean, however that passage from one status to another is its
only function. Van Gennep (1960:11) makes clear that passage may be
only one function of a complex ceremonial. "It is by no means my con
tention that all rites of birth, initiation, marriage, and the like, are only
rites of passage. For ... all these ceremonies have their individual
purposes." In the Easter ceremonial the preliminal rites are not clearly
delineated. This, however, is not atypical, for initiation ceremonies
emphasize liminal rites rather than preliminal ones (see the above quote
of van Gennep). The pledging of new promises on Easter Sunday in front
of the church cross, the first meeting of the Pariserom, the manufacture
and putting on of the mask, and any additional initiation into the Parisero
sodality which may take place may be classified as preliminal rites. Most
of the seven weeks of processions and ceremonial labor belong to the
liminal rites, when the young men become fcapakobam and in some sense
are no longer men. Many of the traits of the liminal period as charac
terized by van Gennep (1960) and Victor Turner (1964) exist in the Easter
ceremonial such as the wearing of masks representing the dead or the undead (spirits), the madrinas1 whipping the 5apakobam and also the
whipping of the ground, and the novices (dapakobam) are outside of
society and can break taboos and pantomime sacred ritual. Finally the

baptism and the feeding of the Pariserom may be classified as postliminal rites. Thus, the Banari Easter ceremonial fits into the class of
rites which van Gennep calls rites of passage and characterizes as con
sisting of three subdivisions, preliminal rites, liminal rites, and postliminal rites.
Max Gluckman (1962) in an essay on rites of passage does an ex
tremely good job in summarizing van Gennep's ideas. The main criticism
which Gluckman (1962:10-11) mentions is directed at van Gennep's failure
to relate specific rites of passage to particular social organizations and
to point out interrelationships^ between specific social structures and the
structures of rites of passage. Instead van Gennep simply masses evi
dence selected at random for his structural pattern and basic function of
rites of passage.
These ideas provide an introduction to this section on the socio
logical explanation of initiation ritual. This type of explanation finds the
function of initiation ritual in the building of a feeling of identity with the
social grouping or the type of social relation into which the individual is
being initiated. Gluckman's (1962:14-15) following statement is a classi
cal formulation of this position: "... the rituals, which Frazer saw as
fruits of mental processes and ideas, are in fact to be understood in terms
of the social relations which are involved in the rituals." The next logi
cal question involves the identification of specific social groups and types

363

of social relation or relations symbolized within the Easter ceremonial.

If the Easter ceremonial, as an initiation rite, increases initiate identi
fication with Mayo society, what are the specific processes involved?
In order to examine these questions, we turn first to the two explanatory
models of Young and Cohen and then to several more general ideas.
Two Models of Sociological Identity
Status Dramatization. Young
Frank Young has developed his model in two publications, the
monograph, Initiation Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Status
Dramatization (1965), and an article, "The Function of Male Initiation
Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Test of an Alternative Hypothesis" (1962).
Young conceives his explanation as an alternative to that of Whiting. He
(1962:380) characterizes Whiting's model as Freudian: "It is clear that
the foregoing 'disruptive emotion' hypothesis follows the classic Freudian
framework of impulsive man assailed by a frustrating culture." Young
mentions three chief objections to Whiting's model: 1) a great deal of
learning and personality integration must take place after the ages of two
and three; 2) the higher status of males in a patrilocal residence situation
would not likely be observed by a child, since males play the instru
mental roles in matrilocal as well as in patrilocal societies; and 3) in
itiation ceremonies do not appear to be as inhibiting ("brainwashing") as

364

claimed by Whiting. Young substitutes the concept that through drama

tization the initiate develops understanding of and identity with the role
into which he is being initiated for the idea that initiation reduces hos
tility toward the role. More specifically, Young is interested in male
initiation ceremonies and identification with the male sex role. Young
men have specific difficulties in societies where there are exclusive male
sodalities in which the young men must participate. These social units
require cooperation between males and exclusion of females. This situ
ation Young calls one of male solidarity. Intensive male solidarity taking
the form of exclusive male societies exists mainly for 'middle-level'
societies where the variety of food exploitation patterns is limited and
where the resources may be exploited by co-operative groups" (Young
1962:382). This is because in very simple societies such as Eskimo, the
environment does not permit the formation of male solidarity, and in the
very complex societies the males selected for cooperating groups are not
selected in terms of local residence. Often these groups tend to be war
sodalities, which often exist within "middle-level societies."
. . . It is among such societies that intergroup hostilities con
ducive to male solidarity are possible. In nomadic communities,
hostility tends to be individualized while in complex societies
armies are made up of men from diverse communities. Only in
relatively stable, autonomous communities would combat groups
include all males of the village and only those. (Young 1962:382)
In a high male solidarity society, a young man's sex role is not complete
until he identifies with the male sex group or groups. In order to identify

365

with this group, he must share its special symbolism and social meanings.
However, since these types of groups are often semi-secret societies, he
has no way of learning this material until he becomes a member. Thus,
the initiate must learn quickly and precisely the symbols and social
meanings of the group when they are revealed to him. And on the other
hand, other members of the local group must be informed of his change in
status. The initiation ceremony functions as a dramatic performance in
which both these above requirements are met. The more complex and
dramatic the rituajl, the deeper will be the identification produced through
participation in the drama. Thus, Young sees initiation ceremonies as
positive learning experiences rather than mechanisms to reduce hostility
and break bonds formed when the individual was an infant.
In order to test the solidarity hypothesis, Young turns to the same
sample, save one exception, and the same coding as Whiting used. Young
(1962:383), however, controls for male solidarity which he defines as
follows:
. . . Empirically it is defined by the presence of an organization
in which all adult males are expected to participate and from
which women are excluded. The organization must be institution
alized to the point of having its own building or a taboo that
protects open meetings from the perception of women or uniniti
ated boys. The definition includes the cases of the Hopi and
Dahomeans where there are a number of male organizations or
essentially the same type. It is assumed that such redupli
cations occurs in larger communities simply as an adaptation to
the larger population. When the organizations develop differ
entiated purposes, they do not qualify.

366

In controlling for this variable, Young is able to show that Whiting's

correlation between types of child rearing and initiation ceremonies no
longer exists.
. . . The relative efficiency of prediction of the disruptive
emotion and solidarity hypothesis is .45 and .70 respectively,
as measured by Goodman and Kruskal's lambda. . . . essenti
ally the same cross-tabulation applies to the sex-role conflict
hypothesis. . . . The efficiency of the prediction based on
these factors is only .40 compared, as before, to .70 for the
more parsimonious solidarity variable. (Young 1962:383-384)
In addition to stating the fact that Whiting's correlation no longer holds,
Young (1965:158-164) concludes his monograph with the idea that in
itiation ceremonies are sociological or cultural phenomena. Therefore,
it makes more sense to use a sociological explanation rather than a
psychological one in explaining an essentially sociological occurrence.
It is more parsimonious if the phenomena and the explanation are of the
same level or type than if levels are mixed.
The Mayo Data
Using Whiting's indicators of initiation rites, as Young does in
the above correlations, we classify the Banari Easter ceremonial as an
initiating rite. On the other hand, high male solidarity is not definitely
present in the Mayo society, because there is no present male group in
which all Mayo males were observed to participate. There still exists a
male military society, which in the deep past initiated all young men (see
Beals 1943:66-68). However, this organization appears to have little

367

influence today in the lives of many Mayo young men. E. Spicer (1954:
71-72) reports a somewhat stronger influence among Yaqui men.
The Military Society constitutes merely the nucleus of a
wider organization for carrying on war. It exists in a state of
disciplined formal organization and is regarded as ready at any
time to organize the village for fighting purposes. . . .
It is part of the Yaqui thinking about war that every
adult male is a potential soldier and that each will be expected
to volunteer his services under the Military Society when war
breaks out. There is at present some effort to train all the
youths under the auspices of the Military Society, but these
efforts are not pushed very vigorously. From time to time when
members of the Military Society are otherwise occupied the
governors order individuals to serve for a period on guard duty
at the soldiers' guardia. Many youths enjoy such service and
are glad to accept it for a short period. Some take instructions
in drumming, marching, and acting as corporals, or even flagbearing. However, the duties are not very rigorously disci
plined. There is no formal drill, for example. Youths or older
men who participate in this way in the activities of the Military
Society merely assume places in the routine line-ups and
marches and engage in the ritual for a few weeks, picking up
a little of the rudiments and becoming familiar with the organi
zation. A majority of the men in the Santiamea have participated
briefly in this manner and therefore have some intimate knowledge
of military behavior as Yaquis conceive it. A far smaller pro
portion from the other barrios have participated. There is in
the other barrios a tendency to disparage such activities and
to regard them as a sort of old-fashioned imitation of the
Mexican military.
Although many males are members of the Parisero sodality, others may
participate as Maestros or Paskome, never having been Pariserom. Par
ticipation in some Mayo sodality is expected; however, at best only
somewhat over half the present population of young men have served as
Pariserom. On the other hand, the Pariseros have their own building

368

during Easter Week, around which women, except the madrinas of the
1 0 *ola,

seldom if ever venture. In the years of observation, the

organization was exclusively male and a taboo against sexual intercourse

during Lent existed for members of the sodality. There are strong indi
cators of male solidarity, at least within the Parisero sodality; however,
a strict interpretation of Young's indicators would rule out male soli
darity for the Mayos as a whole. In conclusion, it would appear that
solidarity is more complex than Young envisions; and although we cannot
argue that male solidarity exists for all Mayo men, it certainly does exist
for those within several of the sodalities, especially the Parisero one.
Also, this suggests that other types of solidarity than that related to the
male sex role may exist. Perhaps the dapakobam, as well as the young
persons who are members of other sodalities, are being exposed to a
dramatization of Mayo ethnic and local area solidarity as well as to male
and female solidarity. Insofar as the altar women, the bearers of Mary,
make up a sodality, their performance might be conceived of as a drama
tization of female solidarity. Then, ideally, young men (also perhaps
young women) having problems identifying with their sex role would
become members of sodalities in which they dramatize their male or
female solidarity. Beyond these also dramatized is Mayo solidarity, or
perhaps more accurately, Mayo pueblo or local solidarity, in contrast to
other Mayo ceremonial centers and mestizo society. Unfortunately, I

369

have succeeded in muddying up Young's rather clear indicators. The indi

cators general enough for cross-cultural research are not subtle enough
to classify the Mayo case accurately. On the other hand, if we strictly
apply the indicators as they are presented, the conclusion must be that
Young's hypothesis does not predict the Mayo case, because the Banari
Easter ceremonial is classified as an initiation ceremony, but Mayo
society is not characterized by high male solidarity. Thus, the dependent
variable is present and the independent variable absent.
However, for his hypothesis, Young is aware of the weakness of
Whiting's indicators of initiation ritual. He (Young 1962:384) suggests
several additional rules:
. . . (a) the custom must occur periodically i n the same general
form and be supervised at least in part by the adults of the
society, (b) it must apply to all adolescent males and only to
theseceremonies including females do not qualify, and (c) of
a series of initiation ceremonies, only the most elaborate, as
measured by the scale, is to be coded.
The Banari Easter ceremonial fulfills the first rule. It occurs each spring
during Lent, in 1961 and 1965 taking an almost identical form, and is
supervised by Mayo adults. In accord with the second rule, it does not
qualify, because women also take part in the ceremonial and not all
young males are Pariserom. The third rule involves a Guttman scale of
degree of dramatization with five steps: 1) customary minimal social
recognition indicated by gift giving, a party, change of name, etc., 2)

370

social seclusion indicated by physical and/or social separation, such as

initiation camps, isolation or taboos on social contact; 3) personal drama
tization indicated by initiate being ceremonially dressed and/or giving a
public performance; 4) organized response indicated by the group dressing
ceremonially and/or performing; and 5) emotionalized social response in
dicated by beating or severe hazing. The Banari Easter ceremonial scales
up to and including step four. The rosaries given to the Pariserom by the
godparents qualify as gifts; the masks and taboo on sexual intercourse
qualify as social separation; the individual apakoba dress qualifies as
step three; and the Parisero ceremonial dress and performance qualifies
as organized social response. To the best of my knowledge, except for
the switching the madrinas of the ^O^ola give the 5apakobam, there is
no beating or severe hazing, although the ceremonial labor pf the Pariserom,
and especially the 5apakobam, can be conceived of as a mild hazing.
Thus, there is group participation, although the emotional charge is some
what less than severe hazing. Thus, the Easter ceremonial approaches
the most elaborate degree of dramatization in a mild emotionalized social
response. In summary, the Banari Easter ceremonial qualifies as an in
itiation rite under rule one and three; however, it does not fulfill rule two.
Thus, in terms of Young's indicators of initiation ceremonies, the Mayo
data do fit within the prediction of the status dramatization hypothesis,

371

being negative in both the independent variable, male solidarity, and the
dependent one, initiation ceremony.
Conclusions
In summary, Young's model of status dramatization adequately
predicts the Mayo data, with both independent and dependent variables
being negative when Young's three rules of initiation ceremonies are
applied. On the other hand, the Banari Easter ceremonial ranks extremely
high in the scale of degrees of dramatization of male initiation ceremonies.
My interpretation of these facts would be that the ceremonial functions to
aid young people, especially young men, in identification with both a sex
role, male or female solidarity, and with Mayo solidarity in the form of
the pueblo and the church groups. This interpretation we will discuss in
more detail below. Also, the intense culture contact situation which
exists within the Mayo River Valley could be important in this context in
several ways. It could reduce the universality of the Parisero sodality
and also intensify the importance of the ceremonial, while refocusing the
unit of identification from the male sex role to the Mayo ethnic role.
Young (1965:38-39) quotes Miller on this point, but rejects his argument
on the basis that it is an external explanation rather than one in terms of
the inner dynamics of societies.
. . . T h e initiation rites a r e persecutedtread: pursued]w i t h
special vigor when the exclusive, personal interests of the group
or class are threatened by exigencies, such as initial contact with

372

alien peoples, migration, depopulation, threat of complete

extinction, or absorption into outside culture, or the Heimweh
provoked by a novel environment. The elders under these
circumstances try to maintain group consciousness and custom
largely through the extensive emotional and mental schooling
of the manhood ceremonies, because only in this way can the
social heritage be perpetuated as a living thing.
Although Young believes this explanation is not useful for cross-cultural
explanations of initiation ceremonies, I am sure it provides a great deal
of insight into the Mayo situation. Young, on the other hand, is much
concerned with the dramatization of status. He has been strongly influ
enced by the work of Erving Goffman, whom we have already mentioned,
and likely also by Gerald Berreman (1962). The idea of Goffman that many
of the subtleties of social interaction can best be described through a set
of technical terms borrowed from drama and the theater is innovative and
brilliantly developed. However, I am not convinced that his insights
justify the additional terminology nor that the analogy between the drama
and social relations is not greatly misleading. Although social living may
have much in common with a stage play, the two are in fact very different.
Even though the Easter ceremonial is obviously excellent drama, it does
not appear likely that a dramaturgical analysis would have sharpened or
increased the insights which the concrete isolate method of analysis has
produced. The ceremonial is drama with personnel acting out roles; how
ever, it is a great deal more than drama. It includes a structured pattern
of ritual symbols which lie behind the drama. To mistake the ceremonial

373

as simply a dramatization of male solidarity, which this type of analysis

might encourage us to do, would be superficial. Also, I am not con
vinced that Berreman's monograph, "Behind Many Masks," gains a great
deal of insight through the application of dramaturgical analysis, although
it is an insightful work in many other ways. Thus, although I am more
than ready to admit that a great deal of ritual functions as status drama
tization and status delineation, I am not fully certain what Young's
correlations mean.
Perhaps more serious is the problem of circularity which Young
(1962:384) himself recognizes. The idea that status dramatization is an
aspect of male solidarity, especially when a male sodality is the main
indicator of that solidarity, rather than a separate and dependent variable,
is certainly reasonable. I do not feel that Young very successfully re
futes this idea. Of course, if he cannot refute it, then his entire argu
ment collapses. In conclusion, Young's model for the explanation of
initiation ceremonies is extremely useful in that it suggests that cere
monies have a strong positive contribution in the socialization of the
individual. Through dramatization, the initiate develops an intimate
understanding and identification with the status which he is taking on
and with the role which he must play. Whether the ceremony in some way
is part of the system of statuses and roles and the social groups made
possible by this system, or whether it is a dependent variable of male

374

solidarity is not entirely clear. Young's major contribution is within the

methodology of cross-cultural studies and he (Young 1965:vii) defi
nitely lives up to the acknowledgment to one of his professors, William
W. Lambert, "I hope this study does not transgress his fundamental rule
that it does not matter much what position one takes as long as one
observes the rules of the game. "
Social-Emotional Anchorage, Cohen
Yehudi Cohen, in an article (1964a), "The Establishment of Identi
ty in a Social Nexus: The Special Case of Initiation Ceremonies and
Their Relation to Value and Legal Systems, " and a monograph (1964b),
The Transition from Childhood to Adolescence: Cross-Cultural Studies
of Initiation Ceremonies, Legal Systems and Incest Taboos, presents his
model of social-emotional anchorage. Cohen (1964a) begins his dis
cussion with Whiting's ideas as whipping boys. He has three main
objections to Whiting's work: 1) Whiting has not proven that a conflict
in sex identity actually exists. His emphasis on the problem of identity
is extremely insightful and useful. Part of the identity problem may
include sex identity and resolution of hostility; however, Whiting is
not clear about the meaning of hostility nor does he prove it exists
within the social context upon which he focuses. 2) The assumption
that unconscious processes, especially unconscious conflicts, yield
cultural institutions is very suspect. 3) The idea that cultures directly

375

confront and solve conflict or hostility on the level of the individual,

specifically with initiation rites, also appears suspect to Cohen. He
suggests the alternative idea of Gluckman that conflict is resolved in
social systems through the solidarity and cohesion produced by the
conflict itself. According to Gluckman (1959:57 and 59) some social
conditions,
. . . introduce divisions-estrangements-into the family and
prevent its absorbing the wholehearted emotional allegiance of
its members. Husbands are forced apart from their wives to
continued association with their own kin, and children turn to
more distant kin and away from their parents. The estrangements
in the family are associated with the extension of ties to wider
kinship groupings.... This implies that the family itself
demands allegiance at the expense of the wider kinship group
and obviously also that the wider kinship group demands
allegiance at the expense of the family.
Thus Gluckman sees the conflict as related to structural principles of the
society. Cohen argues that Whiting's correlations are spurious because
Whiting does not relate the conflict to social structural principles as
Gluckman succeeds in doing. They exist as apparent correlations because
Whiting's variables are rather adhesions than true correlations. Thus, in
his model Cohen attempts to relate the development of social-emotional
anchorage to social structure principles as well as seeking correlations.
First, Cohen isolates two stages in physiological puberty: 1) the
first stage begins around 8 to 10 years of age and consists of biochemical
and hormonal changes within the body which are not externally visible,
and 2) the second stage begins a few years after the first and is

376

observable, because it includes the appearance of secondary sex char

acteristics. During these stages, the child is undergoing important
physiological changes which upset his emotional stability. These periods
of emotional confusion take the form of a search for identification or
social-emotional anchorage. As the individual interacts within society
he requires a social unit with which to identify to find emotional security
or anchorage. This emotional identification involves the development of
empathy with a specific social group. This sort of identity is sought
especially strenuously during the two periods of emotional insecurity in
puberty. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of societal maintenance,
these periods are ideal times for socialization, since the child is seeking
specifically what social groups have to offer, emotional identity and
anchorage. Cohen argues that societies take different types of action
during each of the two periods, or may take no action at all depending
upon the social structure. Where the social structure is based upon a
wider unilineal kin group than the family, such as a lineage or clan,
action will be taken. On the other hand, if the social structure is based
upon the nuclear family and the village or the society as a whole, then no
societal action will be taken during these two periods of puberty. The
societies of the former type take action which involves a type of dis
ruption of the nuclear family. Through disrupting the family, the emotional
anchorage is broadened beyond this unit. Often during this period, the

377

child is consistently taught by a member of his lineage but not a member

of his nuclear family, thus broadening and forming his identification with
the lineage. The disruption of the nuclear family may take two forms,
brother-sister avoidance or extrusion. The former, in which normal
brother-sister social interaction is tabooed, requires no additional ex
planation. Extrusion involves the custom of the removal of the child from
the household, especially at night. Often the family still cares for the
child, but at night he or she must sleep away from home. In some cases,
the children are adopted by other families. Thus, the customs of ex
trusion or brother-sister avoidance disrupt the nuclear family and orient
the child's identification away from the family and toward the lineage,
especially if he is taught by a member of the lineage but not dramatic in
the sense of an initiation ceremony, they are extremely impressive for a
child of 8 to 10 years. This is more or less in direct opposition to
Young's status dramatization theory, although Young has in mind only
initiation ceremonies, which Cohen associates with the second stage of
puberty. In order to test these ideas Cohen (1964a:536) formulates two
hypotheses.
1) In those societies in which children are brought jup for
anchorage and identification in the wider kin group outside
the family, they will be brought up and taught by members of
the child's descent group as well as by their parents; and
during the first stage of puberty there will be a physical
discontinuity or disruption in the child's relationships to
his familythrough extrusion or brother-sister avoidance
or both.

378

2) In those societies in which children are brought up for

anchorage and identification in the nuclear family, they will
be brought up by their parents as well as by non-members of
the child's descent group; and during the first stage of
puberty there will be a physical continuity in the child's
relationships to his family.
From a sample of 65 societies only one does not conform to the hypotheses.
The Mayo data fit very nicely into the second hypothesis. Mayo children,
as we have discussed at length in the preceding section, are brought up
by their parents, members of a local extended family, neighbors, god
parents, and mestizo school teachers. Beyond the egocentric units of a
bilaterally extended family, and a set of compadres (co-parents) and the
sociocentric units of the numerous sodalities and the church and pueblo
government, no other Mayo social groups exist with which the adolescent
is expected to identify. Also as expected, neither brother-sister avoidance not extrusion exist as cultural patterns in Mayo society.
According to Cohen, the second stage of puberty in some societies
is characterized by initiation ceremonies. Since in this stage the
children can see changes taking place in their bodies, the confusion is
not nearly so great. Thus, societal action at this point is not as important
as it is in the first stage. Thus, not all societies which acted in the
first stage will continue to do so in the second. In other words, not all
societies which practice extrusion or brother-sister avoidance will also
have initiation ceremonies, although those which have the ceremonies
will also have extrusion or avoidance, because initiation ceremonies

379

function to complete the social-emotional anchorage of the initiate to his

unilinear descent group, an anchorage initiated by extrusion or brothersister avoidance. To the three characteristics of initiation ceremonies
of van Gennep, Cohen (1964a:540) adds the following four more:
4) Those elders who conduct the rite, especially when boys
are being initiated, are usually older members of the child's
descent group who had been involved in his upbringing; the
parents are usually excluded from the rites. 5) It is universal
for the members of the sex for which it is prescribed . . . held
for all boys of the appropriate age . . . held for all girls (if
prescribed).
6) The rite is conducted in a group, and not focused on a single
individual. 7) The opposite sex is excluded from the rite.
. . . When boys are being initiated, all females, regardless of
age or status, are forbidden to witness the proceedings visually.
In terms of these characteristics the Banari Easter ceremonial fulfills only
number six and not numbers four, five, and seven. Therefore, for Cohen's
purposes it may not be considered an initiation ceremony. This is pre
dicted very nicely by Cohen's (1964a:543) final hypothesis relating to
initiation ceremonies.
. . . inthose societies inwhich childrenare brought u pt o b e
anchored in the wider kin group, they will be brought up and
taught by members of their descent group as well as by their
parents, and during the second stage of puberty there may be a
further disruption in the child's relationship to his family in the
form of an initiation ceremony. Conversely, in those societies
in which, children are brought up to be anchored in the family,
they will be brought up and taught by their parents and by nonmembers of the child's descent group, and during the second stage
of puberty there will be no disruption in the child's relationship
to his family. However, fewer societies will take formal and

380

explicit steps in connection with the second stage of puberty

than with the first.
Cohen's (1964a:543) sample of societies also verify the hypotheses.
. . . Of the 28 societies inwhich children are brought u pt o b e
anchored in the descent group, extrusion or brother-sister
avoidance are found in all: however, only 18 (64%) have initiation
ceremonies at the second stage. There are 37 societies in which
children are brought up to be anchored in the family; extrusion or
brother-sister avoidance is practiced in only one (Lakher boys
are extruded at about the age of nine), and absent in all the
others. Similarly, only one of these societies has initiation
ceremonies (the Siriono, for girls, but not for boys), and they
are absent in all the rest.
Cohen suggests a single verifying indicator or independent
criterion of social-emotional anchorage which is the concept of legal
liability and responsibility. If one is legally responsible for other members
of his lineage or clan, then his anchorage is with both the lineage and
clan and with the nuclear family. Cohen (1964a:548) formulates these
ideas in the following two hypotheses. Of the sample of societies, only
the people of Lesu are an exception to hypothesis number one and the
Omaha an exception to number two.
(1) In these societies in which children are brought up by
their parents, as well as by members of the children's descent
groups, and in which children are subjected to extrusion or
brother-sister avoidance at the first stage of puberty, the
concept of joint liability will be found. (2) In those societies
in which children are brought up by their parents plus nonmembers of the children's descent group, and in which there
is neither extrusion nor brother-sister avoidance nor rites of
passage, only the concept of several liability will be found.

381

The Mayo case, of course, is described nicely by hypothesis number two

because they lack joint liability as well as training by members of the
child's descent group.
If the Bctnari Easter ceremonial does not qualify as an initiation
ceremony or a rite of passage at least within Cohen's framework, is the
concept of social-emotional anchorage useful in an explanation of the
Easter ceremonial? In light of the following ideas, the concept tells us
a great deal about another function of the Easter ceremonial beyond its
functions in personality integration and male sex role dramatization.
This function involves social-emotional anchorage but not within a uni
linear descent group, mainly because this type of social unit is non
existent for Mayos. First, Cohen does not argue that anchorage does not
take place in a society like the Mayo, but that the identification is not
with the unilinear descent group. This turns us back to our original
question, with what social unit is the Easter ceremonial dramatizing and
stimulating social-emotional anchorage? Obviously for Mayos there is
strong anchorage within the nuclear and localized family, but beyond this
where are the points of identification? We shall return to this problem
below. Second, Cohen's indicators restrict rites of passage or initiation
ceremonies to societies with unilinear descent groups. This certainly
severely limits van Gennep's original concept of r-ites of passage as well
as greatly restricting the applicability of the concept of social-emotional

382

anchorage, but in terms of different social units. For example, Cohen

(1964a:541) points out the marked shift in social relations before, during,
and after an initiation ceremony.
. . . there is a marked disjunction in normal social activities
and relationships. Just as this is one of the principal purposes
of extrusion and brother-sister avoidance, it is also one of the
main functions of the initiation ceremonies of the second stage
of puberty. The former impose abrupt breaks in the child's ties
to members of his nuclear family; the latter also disrupt meaningful
relationships.
As we have seen and shall discuss fvirther below, the Easter ceremonial
involves this type of disjunction in social activities, as well as in social
structure. This suggests a second question: if we wish to argue that the
Easter ceremonial aids in developing social-emotional anchorage with
some type of broader social unit, what is or are the mechanisms of identi
fication? If a disjunction in social activities exists, how is it important
in anchorage? In summary, Cohen's explanatory model excludes the
Banari Easter ceremonial as a rite of passage or at least as a rite which
intensifies social-emotional anchorage within a unilinear descent group.
However, if we take a somewhat broader perspective, on the basis of
similarity in form between the Easter ceremonial and qualifying rites of
passage, Cohen's anchorage concept suggests that the Easter ceremonial
aids in developing initiate identification with some type of social group
and social structure beyond the nuclear and local extended family. In the
following paragraphs, we delineate one suggested mechanism operating in

383

the development of initiate identification and discuss the social group

and structural principles with which the initiate finds social-emotional
anchorage.
The Functions of the Easter Ceremonial in Social Identity
If we wish to argue that the Easter ceremonial is important in the
development of social identity, then it is necessary to suggest the mecha
nisms involved in this process. Obviously, participating in the cere
monial at any level develops social understanding and therefore increased
identification with the social units and key roles of the ceremonial. How
ever, we are seeking something more specific. In turning to an explanation
of dapakoba dress and behavior, we turn to a subject which has great
historical depth, both in terms of anthropological interest and Mayo ori
entations. Beals (1943:70) suggests that a sodality like the Pariseros
with masked personnel existed amongst the Mayos in aboriginal times.
An important masked-clown society is postulated, similar
in behavior and functions to the Pueblo clowns. The members
exhibited clowning behavior and performed burlesques, danced,
and acted as police. The society may have had subdivisions.
Members probably possessed both war and curing functions. They
wore long-nosed, horned, grotesque masks of hide, often decorated
with parrot feathers, cocoon and deer-hoof rattles; two sticks
and a special drum were part of the paraphernalia. They kept
silent while masked, performed actions backward, using the
left hand, practiced or simulated filth eating, and begged. Masks
may have been kept in the house of the owner (Mayo) or in a
ceremonial structure (Yaqui) and were buried with the owner.
Societies in general buried their members.

384

The early anthropologists, for example, J. A. McCullock, in an

article on "Monsters," in Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
(1913, quoted by V. Turner 1964:14), believed that masks were produced
by "hallucinations, night-terrors and dreams." McCullock (Turner 1964:
14) also felt that "as man drew little distinction in primitive society be
tween himself and animals, as he thought that transformation from one to
the other was possible, so he easily ran human and animal together. This,
in part, accounts for animal-headed gods or animal-gods with human
heads. " In other words, masks and behavior of masked initiates could
be explained in terms of a primative confusion between man and animals
and between dreams and hallucinations and reality. In the 1930's, when
much of American anthropology focused upon historical reconstruction,
Parsons and Beals (1934) published a very useful description and compari
son of "The Sacred Clowns of the Pueblo and Mayo-Yaqui Indians. "
It was the Fifth Friday, the Fiesteros were making the
stations of the Cross at San Ignacio, and we had just joined the
procession of the image-carrying women, the rezador and his
acolytes, and the group dedicated to the annual service, when
the Fariseos appeared on the scene to burlesque the devout and
"play" around them. These masked men teased one another; they
fell over dogs and rolled in the dust; they displayed mock fear;
they set a doll on the ground to venerate it as a saint; and they
simulated eating and drinking the excreta they would pretend to
catch in their wooden machete from the body of passing burro or
horse or man or woman, even of one kneeling in prayer. This last
diversion was a variant on the filth eating and drinking practices
of the Pueblo clowns, otherwise every new trick or bedevilment
that was enacted on the outskirt of that religious procession was
one I had seen in our Southwest. The Fariseos behaved just as
would the Koyemshi were there Catholic processionals at Zufii

385

which the Koyemshi had to attend. I gasped in amazement inwardly

the dust was smothering. (Elsie Clews Parsons in Parsons and
Beals 1934:491)
However, besides some shrewd suggestions concerning the history of this
sacred clowning pattern, their article contains no developed attempt to
explain the function of this pattern. The following remark and footnote
by Beals (Parson and Beals 1934:505) hints at the socialization function
of dapakoba behavior which we have already mentioned.
The obscene behavior of both clowns and dancers is quite
contrary to the ordinary conduct of life. Both Yaqui and Mayo
are extremely modest, shy, and reticent concerning sex. They
are not given to joking, the Mayo even less than the Yaqui. Clown
behavior during ceremonies is not closely watched by adults.
That the obscenity and clownishness are in part a vicari
ous outlet for a rather emotionally inhibited community is quite
possible. This is especially evident with the dancers. The
Pascolas may say and do, and the crowd may laugh at, things
which are never said or done in everyday life. Ordinarily they
would be not only offensive but grossly insulting.
&apakobam behavior communicates something of the expectations of
certain role behavior, expectations which in ordinary life persons are too
inhibited to discuss openly. Their behavior airs these topics for dis
cussion, or at least presents that which others refuse to discuss. On the
other hand, &apakoba behavior does not destroy the taboo and extremely
sacred nature associated with the roles pantomimed because they, them
selves, are both taboo and sacred. As the ceremonial draws to a close,
their ritual apparatus symbolizing their role is consumed by fire and the
impersonators are baptized becoming men again. This, then, is an

386

important context for socialization associated with sacred roles which are
very difficult to discuss within a profane situation. The masks provide
the aesthetic distance or sacred distance necessary in the portrayal of
the sacred aspects of certain roles.
One of the first to raise the question of the social function of the
Yaqui-Mayo masked behavior was Edward Spicer (1954:173). He argues
that the burlesque of the chapayekam provides a counter theme and social
relief from the intense ceremonialism of Lent. "The most rigidly ritualized
ceremonial of the year, the waehma. is constantly relieved by the humor
ous actions of the chapayekam in their capacity as clowns. " In addition
and perhaps more insightfully, he (Spicer 1954:173-174) sees this social
relief as ritually patterned and therefore as structurally very much a part
of the Easter ceremonial.
. . . The chapayekam lampoon the maestros ... by nosing among
them in the course of ceremonies, by holding up little notebooks
and pretending to chant from them, or by aping their positions in
ritual with their heads flung back. The chapayekam interrupt
important church rituals with ritual of their own, sometimes even
drowning out an altar service of chants and prayer with the clatter
of their painted sticks and the recurrent insistent beat of their
drum and mournful descending notes of their flute. The chapayekam.
in short, in plain view for all to see, flout the whole ritual of
proper behavior in relation to the supernaturals. They are ulti
mately ritually destroyed in payment for these sins, but meanwhile
they have afforded delight a comic relief to all in the pueblo at a
time when it would seem, under the domination of the soldiers
of Pilate, that the villagers are most in need of some sort of comic
relief. The behavior of the chapayekam epitomizes the extreme
ritualization of group activities and values in Yaqui culture. Thus,
through them (and the Pascolas), even reaction against the ritual
ization appears to be ritualized.

387

This idea that ritualized dramatization, especially ritual burlesque, re

duces social conflict by isolating and ritualizing the points of the
conflict proves very fruitful. As Spicer mentions, during Lent social
interaction is extremely intense, and as we can see from the preceding
sections of this monograph, social interaction is very complex during
the Easter ceremonial. Intense and complex social interaction in
tensifies preexisting social conflicts. Some of this intense feeling is
A O
focused upon the Capakobam, as well as upon the running of the O ola
and the crucifixion of Christ. The $apakoba pantomime of the ritual of
the ceremonial itself likely reduces some of the conflict produced by the
extremely demanding weeks of ceremonial labor. Also, the dapakoba
drama within the church in which they enact marriage and sexual inter
course, as well as sickness and curing may well focus upon extreme
tension points of Mayo social organization. In the preceding section, we
have already discussed conflicts which likely exist both in male and
female identity, as well as between the two sex roles. Thus, it seems
reasonable that 6apakobam would dramatize crucial points in both social
and physical relations between the sex roles. Also, there is ample evi
dence that witchcraft and curing exist among Mayos and that they are
focal points of rather intense fear and anxiety. Thus, it is not surprising
that the (5apakobam also act out this focus of conflict and anxiety. For
African societies both Max Gluckman (1959) and S. F. Nadel (1952) have

388

extensively elaborated and developed this idea that ritual, ceremonies

or witchcraft, produce consensus by ritualizing the specific conflicts
built into the structure of the society. In this sense, then, 6apakoba
behavior and dress has an extremely important function beyond that of
comic relief. It also functions as a socializing and integrating mecha
nism of Mayo society.
We are still, however, not convinced of the mechanism of social
ization. How can such peculiarly costumed individuals as the Sapakobam
educate anyone in the structure of Mayo society and its associated
social relations? Victor Turner (1964:14), who also sees initiation
ritual as having strong socialization functions, suggests that monstrous
and bizarre masks and dress may be very important in this process. He
argues against the earlier mentioned view of McCulloch that masks are
a result of hallucinations and dreams.
My own view is the opposite one that monsters are manu
factured precisely to teach neophytes to distinguish clearly
between the different factors of reality, as it is conceived in
their culture. Here, I think, William James' so-called "law
of dissociation" may help us to clarify the problem of monsters.
It may be stated as follows: when a and b have occurred to
gether as parts of the same total object, without being dis
criminated, the occurrence of one of these, a,, in a new com
bination ax, favors the discrimination of a, b, and x from one
another. As James himself puts it, "What is associated now
with one thing and now with another, tends to become dissociatedfrom either, and to grow into an object of abstract contemplation
by the mind. One might call this the law of 'dissociation by
varying concomitants.1"

389

What this means is that dapakoba behavior, in that it turns backwards

ordinary social relations and is a sharp break with traditional behavior,
fixes initiates' as well as others' attention upon the structure of tra
ditional social relations. That which was unconsciously accepted
suddenly becomes the center of ritual. Participants come to understand
the structure of social relations through observing them in new and atypi
cal combination. Is there evidence that this type of grotesque presen
tation of social relations enhances the learning and understanding of
Mayo social structure? Common sense would seem to suggest that
identification with the dapakoba type of behavior would teach bad or
confusing habits, if in fact it teaches anything.
Daniel E. Berlyne (1966a and 1966b) has studied conflict, arousal,
curiosity, and exploration and reports (1966b:82), "Arousal involves a
heightening of attentiveness that helps individuals go act and to learn.
The inner conflicts that ambiguous, surprising or complex stimuli produce,
in turn, help to arouse the individual. " Berlyne (1966b) reports that psy
chologists are discovering that novel, complex, puzzling, or ambiguous
stimuli in many situations may be preferred to less complex ones. Ex
periments have proven that when viewing two pictures flashed on a
screen, subjects direct their attention, eye fixation, to the side where
the picture is continually changing, rather than toward the side where the
same picture is continually repeated. Rats when presented with a choice

390

between a new maze and an old one, often will elect to run the new one
rather than repeat the running of the old maze. Berlyne (1966b:83) notes,
"novel stimuli attract more inspection than familiar stimuli. Similarly,
human subjects will spend more time looking at more complex or more
incongruous pictures, unless complexity becomes extreme." Perceptual
conflict appears to stimulate curiosity and learning.
Psychologists are becoming more and more impressed with
the crucial role played by curiosity and other motivational effects
of conflict in human emotional and intellectual development. Jean
Piaget . . . believes that "disequilibrium," or discomfort arising
from inconsistency and lack of certainty in judgment, is the main
force pushing the child toward mature, logical ways of organizing
thoughts and perceptions.... There are indications that learning
motivated by curiosity can give rise not only to particularly rapid
and lasting acquisition of knowledge but also, above all, to
knowledge in which ideas are fruitfully pieced together in co
herent structures. (Berlyne 19 66b:8 4)
A longer switch from the standard waking "alpha" brain rhythm to a wave
pattern indicative of alertness is associated with a reasonable degree of
irregularity of arrangement, of heterogeneity of elements, of incongruity,
of number of independent units, of asymmetry, and of random redistri
bution (Berlyne 1966b:84-85) (also see Fig. 9) than with more standard
figures. This state of arousal caused by conflicting perceptions Berlyne
believes is closely related on the one hand to what psychologists have
called drive, and on the other to what has been called exploratory activi
ties often caused by novel, ambiguous, or complex stimuli. If-we can

391

accept this, then Berlyne (1966b:86) concludes,

. . . that conflict can increase arousal and if arousal may be
equated with drive, conflict will have to be added to the list
of conditions from which high drive can result.... Our view
of motivation will be broadened considerably if we are obliged
to accept conflict as an additional source of drive. This will
imply that animals can be impelled to action and, if necessary,
to the learning of new responses not only by visceral dis
turbances and noxious external stimulation but also by con
ditions that set up discordant processes in the central nervous
system.
Specifically this means that &apakoba masks and behavior may provide an
intense stimulus in learning. The confusion which their presence intro
duces heightens participant arousal. The masks and dapakoba behavior
involve "stimulus properties of the kind usually denoted by words like
complexity. More vigorous and prolonged exploration will generally be
attracted by objects that offer more varied and more irregular stimulation."
(Berlyne 1966a:27-28) In other words, in everyday life a Mayo, especial
ly a child or young person, learns traditional behavior and perceptual
categories simply by being a part of Mayo society. However, when he
becomes a 6apakoba or observes the Easter ceremonial, there is a conflict
between that which he or she has already learned and the present per
ceptions . The 6apakoba has the body of a man but the furry head of an
animal. Those with carved wooden faces have a human face but an animal
head. Their behavior also is unexpected and backwards.
These are the properties for which I have suggested the
term collative, since they depend on comparison or collation of

392

stimulus elements, whether they be elements appearing simul

taneously in different sectors of a stimulus field or elements
that have been perceived at different times. They comprise the
properties that we designate by words like novelty, surprisinaness, incongruity, complexity, variability, and puzzlingness.
Just as the psycho-physical properties are derived from distri
butions of energy and the ecological properties connect stimuli
with the factors that govern natural selection, thus making
contact with the two great unifying concepts of 19th-century
science, the collative properties have close connections with
information, the unifying concept responsible for some revo
lutionary developments in the 20th-century science.
. . . What all the collative variables have in common to give
them the motivational effects that they apparently share is an
interesting but still debatable question. One hypothesis for
which supporting arguments can be found is that these effects all
depend on conflict between incompatible neural, and ultimately
motor, reactions that are simultaneously mobilized. (Berlyne
1966a:30)
And, as we have discussed above, conflict, if it is not too intense, leads
to increased arousal measured by changes in brain waves and galvanic
skin responses. A state of increased arousal, again as long as it is not
too intense, stimulates perception, awareness, and learning (explora
tory and "epistemic" responses). Once aroused, especially for any length
of time, the organism or individual prefers a simple stimulus over a com
plex one. Or in other words, the aroused individual focuses all his facul
ties upon the solution to the conflict, and when the solution is found it is
strongly rewarded. This means that after the conflicts caused by obser
vations of &apakoba appearance and behavior, traditional social relations
are both strongly reinforced and perceived in greater depth by the indi- '
viduals participating in the Easter ceremonial. Additional verification of

393

this inference is found in the following experiment (Berlyne 1966a:30).

At present, my associates and I are engaged in experi
ments designed to test the hypothesis that subjective uncertainty
is aversivethat its termination will reinforce an instrumental
response. Presentation of blurred pictures is our means of in
ducing uncertainty. Our preliminary results have provided some
tentative confirmation for our expectations. The replacement of
a blurred picture by a clear version of the same picture seems,
in at least some circumstances , to be a more effective reward
or reinforcer (as shown by the rate at which a key is pressed to
secure it) than the replacement of a blurred picture by an unre
lated clear picture or by another blurred picture. Furthermore,
we have some hint that a clear picture is most rewarding when it
replaces a picture with an intermediate degree of blurredness.
This seems to be a degree at which some differentiation is be
ginning to emerge but no objects or detail can be recognized, so
that there is maximum scope for competing hypotheses.
The blurred social relations portrayed by the ^apakobam and their con
fusing appearance reinforce traditional Mayo social relations and
cognitive structure of the universe: they force Mayos to reconsider the
elements composing traditional social relations and concepts of the
structure of the world. This provides us with an explanatory mechanism
for the appearance and strange behavior of the dapakobam. Also within
this context, the ideas of Turner (1964:14) concerning the function of
masks and sacred objects during the liminal period of a rite of passage
take on deeper meaning and a more positive verification.
From this standpoint, much of the grotesqueness and monstrosity
of liminal sacra may be seen to be aimed not so much at terror
izing or bemusing neophytes into submission or out of their wits
as at making them vividly and rapidly aware of what may be called
the "factors" of their culture. I have myself seen Ndembu and
Luvale masks which combine features of both sexes, have both
animal and human attributes, and unite in a single representation

394

human characteristics with those of the natural landscape. One

ikishi mask is partly human and partly represents a grassy plain.
Elements are withdrawn from their usual settings and combined
with one another in a totally unique configuration, the monster
or dragon. Monsters startle neophytes into thinking about ob
jects, persons, relationships and features of their environment
they have hitherto taken for granted.
We now know how the ^apakobam startle Mayos into thinking about their
system of social relations; however, we have not as yet discussed the
specific sets of norms underlying the structures of social relations with
which Mayos are identifying.
Toward the end of the section on the Parisero personnel we sug
gested two structural principles which we return to now, a hierarchical
and an egalitarian principle. Each principle is dominant in one of two
main Mayo structural poses. Fred Gearing suggests and develops the con
cept, structural pose, in his two publications, "The Structural Poses of
18th Century Cherokee Villages" (1958), and "Priests and Warriors: Social
Structures for Cherokee Politics in the 18th Century" (1962). The concept
of structural pose focuses upon the specific social structure actualized
to accomplish a specific task. For different tasks the social structure
and social relations may be quite different.
The notion of structural pose, which is offered here,
draws attention to the well-established fact that the social
structure of a human community is not a single set of roles and
organized groups, but is rather a series of several sets of roles
and groups which appear and disappear according to the tasks
at hand. The notion of structural pose elevates that known
fact to a position of central importance in structural analysis.
In every human community, a series of social structures come

395

and go recurrently. . . . In a word, a human community does

not have a single social structure; it has several. Put other
wise, the social structure of a society is the sum of the
several structural poses it assumes around the year. (Gearing
1958:1148-1149)
In his article Gearing (1958) describes four structural poses taken by an
18th century Cherokee village during the annual round of village tasks.
At this time, the Cherokee kinship system was of the Crow type: marriage
residence was ideally matrilocal, however, often neolocal, and the chief
social groups were the village, local segments of seven matrilineal clans,
a body of elders consisting of all men over 55 years of age, and a war
society. These traits and units recombined in four different ways to form
the structural poses. The first two poses, one associated with hunting
in which the village acts "as an aggregate of households, " and the other
associated with the punishment of a murderer in which the village acts
"as an aggregate of corporate clans," need not concern us here. However,
the remaining two, one associated with general councils and the other
with offensive war, are meaningful in terms of our analysis of the Banari
Easter ceremonial. For the village councils, the community shifted from
an aggregated unit to a single organized whole. When a village council
was called, a white flag was raised and everyone gathered at the council
housei. The council was generally called to solve village problems such
as the organization of village-wide religious ceremonies or communal
work projects, for example, repair of the council house. This structural

396

pose included the body of elders, the beloved men, and the seven clan
segments down to the individual households. The officials of the body
of elders' included four priests and a secular official: "the village priestchief, his right-hand man, the keeper of the council house, the messen
ger, and the secular village speaker" (Gearing 1958:1152). In their official
duties they are not affiliated with any of the seven clans. Also, each clan
has a representative on a seven-man council which worked closely with
the priest-chief. The remaining beloved men, members of the body of
elders, represented both their respective clans and the body of elders.
All other members of the village sat within clan groups and any male could
speak if he so desired. Thus, decisions were worked out in close com
munication between the clans and households and the body of elders. The
matter was discussed until unanimity was reached. The leadership within
this structure pose was highly regarded and loved. Persons with a gentle
and egalitarian type of personality became the leaders of this pose. The
social relations within this pose tended to be strongly egalitarian and
gentle. Cherokee ethos emphasized these types of relations as the good
life. As Gearing (1958:1156) says, "Cherokee villagers valued personal
freedomor more accurately, they disvalued coerciveness."
I wish to argue that the Mayo Church and Pueblo organization, the
Bahi Reyesim, have much in common with the Cherokee in terms of this
structural pose. Although the Mayo Pueblo council has lost power and

397

respect in terms of local and state governmental powers, until the very
recent past, it has been quite powerful. In Potam: A Yaqui Village in
Sonora. Edward Spicer discusses a case in which two Yaqui village
councils cooperate together in the judiciation of an adultery case. From
the available information, it would seem definite that the Mayo village
council was nearly identical with that of the Yaqui. Although here
sodalities replace the Cherokee matrilineal clans, the social relations
and ethos appear identical. After the proper opening ritual the YaquiMayo village council is characterized by freedom of speech and respect
for the opinion of all participants. Discussion continued until unanimity
is reached.
The procedure never involves any sort of vote, nor insofar as
could be determined, any appeal to a final authority in the
person of any one official. It is rather a matter of successive
expressions of opinion until a particular view becomes dominant
as all those present accept it as the wisest. The decision, if
a decision is involved as in the case of a punishment for some
crime, is then regarded as unanimous, concurred in by all the
va^uram and the people. (E. Spicer 1954:94-108)
On the other hand, the F nactural pose of the Cherokee period of
offensive war and the pose of Lent and the Parisero sodality are basically
similar. It must be noted that although the Parisero sodality has basic
similarities with Cherokee war organizations, it is not the major Mayo
warrior sodality. This is the Go^im (coyotes), which has "spies" within
the ranks of the Pariserom during the Easter season. Since the military
sodality has lost much of its influence and is not in power during Lent

398

anyway, it appears that the Parisero sodality has taken over some of the
functions of the military sodality. In the Cherokee village, with the
decision for war a red flag was raised. "The village became an order of
command"

(Gearing 1958:1153). Four of the body of elders took war roles;

however, the rest remained within the village. The young men moved out
of the clan structure and into ranks of the war organization. After the
appropriate ritual, the war organization left the village.
The major village war commanders were four beloved men
with priestly esoteric knowledge necessary for warthe war
priest, the war chief, the speaker for war, and the surgeon.
The village war chief, and probably the other three top war
officials, were elected by warriors. Those major war officials
appointed four junior officers, probably ad hoc, from among the
young men: a man with priestly knowledge to be flag bearer; a
stand-in for the war priest to accompany the war party; two
special war leaders, one a priest and one without priestly
knowledge. There was also a seven-man council for war
probably a prominent warrior from each clan-segmentand a
set of four scouts. The command functions were divided among
those officers. Beneath the officials, the war organization was
hierarchically stratified by four ranks which were earned through
war deeds. (Gearing 1958:1153)
Leadership within this war organization was based upon quite different
personality characteristics than leadership within the village. The
prominent warriors were treated politely; however, they were also
feared and avoided. Therefore, the shift from the war pose to that of
village council involves a shift in leadership qualities and ethos, as well
as from one organization to another.
. . . ACherokeeyoung man, a s h e moved back and forth fromthe
structural pose for war activities to the pose for village councils,

399

shifted his loyalties and his relative status. Most im

portantly, he shifted from coercion-tinged war relationships,
in which he feared the wrath of the prominent war leaders
and perhaps was feared by warriors in ranks beneath him,
to non-coercive deferential relations with gentle clan elders
and village priest officials. (Gearing 1958:1155)
Also the ethos associated with the war structural pose is diametrically
opposed to Cherokee ethos. Coerciveness and the hierarchy of command
were of key import for this structural pose as contrasted to the general
Cherokee value of personal freedom. It appears to me that this Cherokee
structural pose is strongly paralleled by that of the Lenten season and of
the Pariserom. In the section on personnel we pointed out that authority
and the hierarchy of command was the strongest structural principle of the
Parisero sodality. There is no doubt that they are strongly coercive in a
society which strongly values egalitarian social relations and personal
freedom. Also concerning the Yaqui equivalents of the Mayo Pariserom
E. Spicer (1954:103) notes:
During Holy Week each year all the authority of church
and pueblo is merged in the two men's ceremonial societies. It
is during this short period only that a theocratic organization
might be said to exist. Working directly under the command of
their supernatural patrons, the crucified Christ and Christ the
Child, the captains of the two societies are regarded as in con
trol of everyone in the pueblo. The offices of governor are
temporarily non-existent and all other officials in church and
Military Society are under the command of the societies to help
them in carrying out the necessary ceremonies and in appre
hending and punishing any offenders against either the civil
law as administered at other times by the governors or the cere
monial law.... but during Holy Week the governors do not
function except in ceremonial capacity as hosts at an enactment

400

of the Last Supper. All affairs in Potam territory are under

the absolute control of the ceremonial societies.
In cases as the above, one of the chief problems in societal integration
involves the reintegration of the war societies into the village organi
zation or the shift from a war structural pose to that of the village. Ritual
such as the Parisero baptism can be conceived of as mechanisms aiding in
the reintegration of the individual. In some cases, the ritual is not suc
cessful and there are individuals who act like Pariseros during the entire
year (recall the case of the Kabo mentioned above, who was disliked be
cause he was coercive).
. . . The required ritual purification of warriors on their re
turn to the village comes to be seen as a device which insisted
that the young men lay down their coercion-tinged relations with
fellow warriors and assume the proper noncoercive relations with
their families, clans, and with villagers at large. Most young
Cherokees, with the assistance of this ritual event, were suc
cessful in this recurrent adjustment. The more prominent warriors
typically were not. These few remained improperly overbearing
in their relations with fellow villagers, and suffered the dis
pleasure of their fellows; they were given war honors, but other
wise avoided. Further, after prominent warriors entered the body
of elders, they usually enjoyed little influence or honor. (Gear
ing 1958:1155)
However, even more crucial than this individual problem is the conflict
at the societal level between the two social structural principles of
coercion and authoritarian hierarchy and of egalitarian relations and in
dividual freedom. Eventually due to intense culture contact and warfare,
the Cherokee war organizations broke away from traditional Cherokee
society and became autonomous fighting units.

401

It appears that the Banari Easter ceremonial intensifies participant

identification with the local church and pueblo unit by presenting both
structural poses and their associated ethos in a meaningful way, the
Pilato structural pose becoming stronger and stronger until Christ is
crucified and arises from the dead. At this point, the Parisero structural
pose is subordinated to that, of the church and the pueblo. The individual
participating in the ceremonial completes the seven weeks of ceremonial
labor with renewed identification with the pueblo structural pose and the
ethos which characterizes it. In presenting the conflicting structural
poses and ethos and in resolving the conflict, the Easter ceremonial
heightens the identification with the village and the egalitarian ethos.
On the other hand, it recognizes the existence of an alternative pose
characterized by an authoritarian and hierarchical ethos which is important
for Mayo society and yet is in conflict with the preceding pose.
I must pause here to make clear that I do not want to be
interpreted as believing that rituals in tribal society settle
conflicts. The whole point of the analysis is that they cannot
do so: the conflicts are built into social life by the nature
of social rules themselves. This is clearly discussed in Turner's
discussion of competition for leadership in Ndembu lineages and
villages: he stresses that as the rival groups continue to exist
after each temporary settlement, marked though it is by ritual
expressing social antagonisms, the disputes between them will
continue and erupt periodically. . . . Ritual clearly does not
settle disputes or act as long-term effective catharsis for anger
or ambition. But, as Turner shows, the struggle for leadership
produces a series of rituals which, in aiming at reconciling the
parties, in fact may lead to temporary truces, and at times con
ceal the basic conflicts between competitors. Hence their

402

"functions" are not to be sought in their relation to emotional

needs alone, but in a study of social relations. (Gluckman
1962:46-47)
In solving this conflict in favor of the village pose, the Banari Easter
ceremonial increases identification with the Mayo pueblo and the
learning of the traditional egalitarian ethos of Mayo society. The
social conflict still remains, and in small-scale egalitarian societies
of the Mayo type, where other mechanisms of conflict resolution have
not been developed, must be resolved again and again each year.

CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION: THE BANARI EASTER CEREMONIAL AS A WORLD VIEW
In the preceding sections we have analyzed the Easter ceremonial
as important in the development of personality identity and social iden
tity. In conclusion, we consider the ceremonial as a symbolic system
important in the development of Mayo cultural identity. In perceiving
the ceremonial as a system of ritual symbols and a world view, we
achieve the insight necessary to fuse the three types of explanatory
modelsthe psychological, sociological and culturologicalinto a
single explanatory system. The conclusions of the two preceding sections
show that the available explanations of initiation ritual in their selection
of indicators do not fit the Mayo case. On one hand, the indicators must
be operationally feasible; however, on the other hand, they must not be
so simplified that the data is misrepresented. In two articles on initiation
and rituals of conflict, Norbeck, Walker, and Cohen (1962) and Norbeck
(1963) make much the same observation. Norbeck (Norbeck, Walker, and
Cohen 1962;$80, 481) argues that initiation is a complex process which
will require numerous sets of explanatory factors and not just single
variables.
403

404

. . . We believe, however, that they [our investigations! indi

cate a need for a reexamination of the ethnological accounts of
the societies involved, giving close attention to the cultural
context of the variables selected. Our investigations point in
particular to the need for a clearer statement of methods of
operation than Whiting has given us and a more careful delinea
tion of the categories involved. . . .
. . . Data on the various societies cited above do not, of course,
give positive support to van Gennep's interpretation of the rites
as markers of transition to the world of adult males. The data
are, however, fully congruent with this view.
. . . We do not contend that van Gennep's ideas have been con
clusively supported, . . . van Gennep's interpretation offers no
explanation to account for the specific nature of rites. Assuming
that his ideas are sound, we are still confronted with many un
answered questions as to why rites involve ordeals and harsh
treatment in certain societies but not in others, why formalized
tests of manhood exist in only certain societies. We suggest
that a thorough investigation of all aspects of individual cul
tures is necessary for understanding of these questions.
It is quite true that van Gennep's explanation does not focus upon the
specific nature of the rites. This is the vacuum which we have attempted
to partially fill through this monograph. We have seen that many other
aspects of culture are of extreme importance in an understanding of the
Banari Easter ceremonial as an initiation ritual. Norbeck's specific re
quest for an explanation of ordeal, however, is inconsistent with a
thorough investigation of the specific ritual. In his request, the emphasis
is shifted away from a wholistic explanation to a trait one. The answer,
as clearly indicated by van Gennep, is because they fit within specific
ritual contexts. Thus, first we should study specific ritual and ritual
symbols and their integration within ritual contexts. Then, secondly

405

comparisons should take place at the level of integrated socio-cultural

units. Norbeck is arguing correctly 'that until we understand the ritual
contexts and ritual symbols and their fit within the ongoing culture, our
explanations of initiation ritual will be inadequate. The present study
certainly demonstrates the validity of this idea. The point of objection
is that he then asks a specific question in a general framework which
throws the level of explanation into the trait list category.
Norbeck (1963:1271) is quite justified, however, in his emphasis
on the lack of anthropological interpretations of the meaning of ritual.
Our description of the key ritual symbol of the Banari Easter ceremonial,
as well as Turner's (1967:19-47) defense of the concept of a ritual
symbol, attempt to examine possible anthropological interpretations of
specific rituals. Norbeck (1963:1271) strongly criticizes Gluckman for
his explanation of certain African rituals as rituals of rebellion which
function to reduce social conflict, because Gluckman has not attempted
to analyze the ritual symbols involved.
Interpretation of the significance of rites apparently
expressing hostility is seriously hindered by lack of informa
tion on their manifest meanings. Although Gluckman . . .
seems well aware of the importance of these data, his inter
pretation of rituals of rebellion proceeds without regard to
native attitudes toward the ceremonies. Monica Wilson calls
attention to the importance of having knowledge of the symbolism
involved in a Nyakyusa rite of "cleansing the country" wherein
is a sham fight. She states . . ., "Only if the symbolism of the
rituals of kinship is ignored could this be interpreted as an ex
pression of rebellion rather than a confession. ..." It seems
probable, as Durkheim states . . ., that some acts of ritual

if ....
406

lack symbolic meanings and merely fill the need for action.
It is likely, too, that the symbolism of many ritual acts has
become lost although the acts themselves are perpetuated and
regarded as necessary. Knowledge of the meaning that sym
bolism conveys to the actors seems nevertheless vital to
functional interpretation.
Through the introduction of the concept, ritual symbol, and the discus
sion of the dominant ritual symbol, death and resurrection, we have
hopefully spoken to Norbeck's objection.
The importance of this dominant ritual symbol and the complex
symbolic integration related to it brings us to the main point. This is
that Norbeck is completely justified'in his objection, because the mean
ing of the ceremonial provides one of its key functions within the enculturation process. In short, the Banari Easter ceremonial provides
the initiate with a symbolic anchorage as well as a social one. Cul
tural systems as referents of sacred symbolism have been discussed
by Susanne Langer (1948), Godfrey Lienhardt (1961), Levi-Strauss (1966),
and Mircea Eliade (1965 and 1967) among others. Susanne Langer argues
that symbolizing and its relation to cultural systems involves emotional
satisfaction. To symbolize is deeply satisfying. Thus, participants
in the Easter ceremonial gain a deep satisfaction through the manipula
tion of the complex symbolism. The elaborate set of material apparatus,
as well as the mythical symbols, is important here. The ultimate suc
cessful outcome of combined effort on the part of such a large number
of individuals and sodalities working together provides a feeling of the

407

importance of the ceremonial, of the Mayo way of life, and of the domi
nant ritual symbol. Lienhardt's insights into Dinka religion prove
especially important in terms of dominant ritual symbols. He (Lien
hardt 1961:170) argues that sacred symbolism gives the members of a
society sharing a culture the understanding necessary to face the un
certainty of the real world.
I have suggested that the Powers may be understood as
images corresponding to complex and various combinations of
Dinka experience which are contingent upon their particular
social and physical environment. For the Dinka they are the
grounds of those experiences; in our analysis we have shown
them to be grounded in them, for to a European the experiences
are more readily understood than the Powers, and the existence
of the latter cannot be posited as a condition of the former. With
out these Powers or images or an alternative to them there would
be for the Dinka no differentiation between experience of the self
and of the world which acts upon it. Suffering, for example,
could be merely "lived" or endured. With the imaging of the
grounds of suffering in a particular Power, the Dinka can grasp
its nature intellectually in a way which satisfies theni, and thus
to some extent transcend and dominate it in this act of knowledge.
With this knowledge, this separation of a subject and an object
in experience, there arises for them also the possibility of
creating a form of experience they desire, and of freeing them
selves symbolically from what they must otherwise passively
endure.
The Mayo Easter ceremonial with its dominant problem, that of death,
provides a solution in life (resurrection), a solution which is the focus
of a great deal of ritual labor. This labor, involving the manipulation
of the complex symbolism of the ceremonial, produces part of the impact
which the ceremonial carries. This impact functions in aiding the initiate
in identifying with the solution symbolically represented by the ceremonial
activities.

408

Also, the mental confusion caused by the complexity of the cere

monial and the dress and behavior of the &apakobam adds to the final
synthesis and impact of the seven weeks of Lent. We observed this
same function of dapakoba behavior and masks in terms of social identity.
Thus, at this point, we wish to argue that this backward behavior and
use of masks functions in enculturation, in intensifying identity with
a cultural system, as well as functioning in socialization.
. . . monster- or fantasy-making, focuses attention on the com
ponents, of the masks and effigies, which are so radically illassorted that they stand out and can be thought about. The
monstrosity of the configuration throws its elements into relief.
Put a man's head on a lion's body and you think about the human
head in the abstract. Perhaps it becomes for you, as a member
of a given culture and with the appropriate guidance, an emblem
of chieftainship. Or it may be explained as representing the
soul as against the body. Or intellect as contrasted with brute
force. Or innumerable other things. But there could be less
encouragement to reflect on heads and headship if that same
head were firmly ensconced on its familiar, its all too familiar,
human body. The man-lion monster also encourages the ob
server to think about lions, their habits, qualities, metaphorical
properties, religious significance, and so on. More important
than these, the relation between man and lion, empirical and meta
phorical, may be speculated upon, and new ideas developed on
this topic. Liminality here breaks, as it were, the cake of custom
and enfranchises speculation. . . . (Turner 1964:15)
The 6apakobam with their masks and backward behavior aid the initiates
and the participants in general to think about the Mayo way of life,
their relation with the dead, and the dominant ritual symbol of the Easter
ceremonial. Much of the other material apparatus, as well as the activi
ties themselves, can be explained in this manner.

409

The Easter ceremonial is also symbolizing a more general aspect

of Mayo world view. Although I have not recorded a statement as inte
grated as the following Yaqui one published by R. Spicer (1939:163),
numerous Mayo statements lead me to feel that Mayos have an almost
if not identical myth.
Before the first Easter there were only Jews, no Yaquis
or Other people. The first man was born on Christmas in Belem
(Bethlehem) which is up north somewhere. This first man, Jesus,
was one week old when Holy Week (Lent) started, He was an
angelito in His mother's arms. Each week Jesus was bigger. He
could walk at three weeks, He had hair on His chest at five weeks,
His hair was white at six weeks, and at seven weeks He was so
old He could hardly walk and they seized Him and killed Him.
Before Jesus was born there were no dances, no harps, no
pascolas. They were all in the ground and had to be gotten out.
Jesus knew how to get them out and He did. He taught every
body these things and there have been fiestas ever since. Every
one before this time had been dying, but when Jesus brought all
these things and taught them then they all lived and they came
down to the Yaqui River. The Easter Dances are about this time.
This exemplifies that which Eliade (1967:178) calls "sacred history,"
which must be continually regenerated.
. . . The Dayak myth proclaims that the creationwith all that
is made possible: human existence, society, culturecannot be
definitively abolished. In other words, a "sacred history" has
taken place, and this history must be perpetuated by periodical
reiteration. It is impossible to freeze the reality in its germinal
modality, such as it was in the beginning, immersed as it were
in the primordial divine totality.
Thus, the Easter ceremonial reiterates the original creation of man and
of the ceremonial and presents the solution of death as symbolized in
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By participating

410

within the sacred times which have been recreated through the ceremonial,
the initiate passes through the liminal period and is reborn as a man as
the ceremonial closes. Through participation in this process of reiterating
the sacred times, the initiate and the participants in general intensify
their identification with the Mayo world view.
Holding1 in mind this concept of the Banari Easter ceremonial as
i
initiation ritual functioning in forging identity with a cultural system, or
a world view which mediates a binary opposition, life and death, let us
return to the psychological and sociological explanatory models. The
psychological model isolates different types of problems in personality
integration occurring at different stages in the individuals's life cycle.
At maturity, the special problem for males is the identification with the
male sex role and with male social groups. They feel hostility towards
the male role because their fathers have proved successful competitors
for their mother's affections. It is argued that the initiation ritual re
duces this hostility and aids the initiate in the identification with the
male role. A sexual opposition runs through the Banari Easter ceremonial
and through Mayo ritual in general. Our Father, ^Itom ?Aai, definitely
is as male as Our Mother, ?'Itom ?'Aye, is female. A meeting such as
that of Christ and Mary on Easter Sunday has sexual as well as other
overtones. In the Easter ceremonial, Our Father, the ^O^ola etc., are
"killed" by the initiates at the same time they are participating as members

I
411

of a uniquely male sodality. Thus, with the crucifixion comes hostility

reduction and with the social participation identity as males. Also, in
the final meeting of Our Mother and Our Father on Easter Sunday comes
a deeper understanding of both male and female roles. Thus, the Easter
activities focus in turn upon the opposed divinities, male and female,
hostility reduction and increased identity, and a new identity with both
Our Mother and Our Father. From a very Eriksonian framework, Sister
Dignan (1967:109) comments upon the dual nature of identity, although
at a somewhat different level from that discussed above.
The dual nature of identity is obvious, that is, main
taining continuity of self (linking one's past years of experi
ences and feelings with his anticipations of the future) and
identifying, at the same time, with something beyond one's self
to acquire the essential characteristics of the group to which
one belongs. A person, to illustrate, remains himself while
identifying with his peer group, his school, his church, city,
or nation. He is, for example, an American, a lawyer, a scout
master. The young person must, therefore, articulate, at least
implicitly, his conceptions about himself with the recognition
and the expectations accorded him by society.
Although the levels are different, this very nicely integrates with the
binary opposition in Mayo identity. Because Our Mother represents the
aspect of the personality which maintains continuity, she is the link
between the past and the future. She symbolizes the unchanging self.
The young initiate moves from the traditional Mayo family in which his
mother was his source of food and comfort into the exclusively male
sodality, the Pariserom. He is also changing status from a secular to

412

sacred role as a &apakoba. At the conclusion of the ceremonial, the

initiate is baptized and thereby returns to secular society, but in a new
role, that of young male adult. He is welcomed by the church and the
Bahi Mariam who feed him bread. As an initiate, he is in the process of
change and is identified with Our Father, who provides the archetypal
symbol of death and resurrection. This symbolizes the second aspect
of the dual nature of identity, according to Dignan, his identity with the
changing demands of his society. Thus, the dual nature of identity,
maintenance of identity and change as one matures, is symbolized by
Our Mother to whom one returns to be fed and at death, and by Our
Father, who provides the basis for one's identification with the changing
demands of society through His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He
symbolizes outer change and she continuity. Through the mediation of
these oppositions expressed in the ritual of the Easter ceremonial, the
initiate achieves personality integration.
However, by participating in the Banari Easter ceremonial, the
initiate also achieves social-emotional anchorage as a member of a Mayo
local community. Van Gennep built a principle of oppositions into his
explanation of passage from one status to another. In the rites of passage,
the initiate moves from a profane to a sacred role and returns to a profane
role, but a role which is different from his original role. Thus, passage
is accomplished by a movement out from the profane into the sacred and

413

a return to the profane, but as a different social personality with a dif

ferent role. Thus, societies handle change at the individual level in a
binary manner, a movement out and a return, a profane and a sacred realm.
In this basic way, with the addition of numerous and greatly varying
specific rituals mediating the frame of binary oppositions, role identity
is built within the changing individual. Of course, more specifically,
van Gennep conceived of this as a three-stage process (movement away
from the profane, the sacred liminal period, and return to the profane);
however, underlying this is the sacred-profane binary opposition. His
conclusion to Rites of Passage (van Gennep 1960:189) very clearly ex
emplifies our point.
. . . For groups, as well as for individuals, life itself means
to separate and to be reunited, to change form and condition, to
die and to be reborn. It is to act and to cease, to wait and rest,
and then to begin acting again, but in a different way. And
there are always new thresholds to cross: the thresholds of
summer and winter, of a season or a year, of a month or a night;
the thresholds of birth, adolescence, maturity, and old age; the
threshold of death and that of the afterlifefor those who be
lieve in it.
That the Banari Easter ceremonial adheres to the binary oppositions as
conceived in van Gennep's theory is beyond any doubt true. The members
of the Parisero sodality leave profane Mayo society with the beginning of
Lent, are sacred, especially while wearing masks or face coverings, and
through baptism reenter profane society. Change is symbolized by the
patron divinity, ?Itom ^Atfai ^Usi, of the Parisero sodality and stability,

414

by the church and

Itom

Aye, to whom the initiates return in the baptism

and feeding. Following van Gennep and Cohen, this initiation process
creates emotional-social anchorage with the local village symbolized by
the church. Also the backward and confusing behavior of the 6apakobam
tends to heighten identification with the traditional social structure and
the local village unit through the production of conflicting mental images,
the traditional versus the 6apakoba dress and behavior. The ultimate
synthesis is a dynamic identification with the traditional egalitarian
social structure versus the hierarchical authoritarian Parisero structure.
Thus, the social identification is created through ritual mediation of the
binary opposition between two structural theories of society, egalitarian
and hierarchical authoritarian. The Mayos are not unique in this sense,
as we discovered in the discussion of Cherokee structural poses. Leach
(1965) also mentions a similar situation in Kachin social structure. How
ever, two of the Cherokee poses quite closely resemble those of the
Pariserom and the traditional pueblo community of the Mayos. In his con
clusion to, "Priests and Warriors," Gearing suggests a process which has
strong explanatory power in terms of social identity and history. At this
point, we have time only to suggest some of the implications of this
process for Mayo identity. He (Gearing 1962:106) isolates a type of state
formation called the "Mesopotamian career to statehood. "
I deal here with the building of voluntary, native states
and suggest that the career called here Mesopotamian is one route
by which such states are formed, perhaps the only route.

415

The Cherokee village political system had five essential

features. First, the villagers consciously distinguished between
two categories of core political tasks: one category was coordi
nated through voluntary consensus, the second through a hierarchy
of command. Second, the villagers sorted themselves as personnel
differently for the two sets of tasks, that is, they employed two
structural poses; persons in the personnel arrangement for the
tasks coordinated through consensus were constrained to use as
a major sanction the withdrawal of affection or, in the extreme,
ostracism, while persons in the hierarchy of command employed
physical force and the threat of such coercion. Third, the villagers
raised different individuals to positions of leadership in the two
systems of personnel. Fourth, villagers selected those two kinds
of leaders on the basis of their respective competences as demon
strated in past performance; leadership was primarily achieved,
not ascribed by birth; the salient, required qualities were, for
the tasks coordinated through consensus, restrained sensitivity
to nuances of feeling in others, and, for the command tasks, fear
less and egocentric courage. And fifth, the village offered a
greater honor to those restrained and sensitive persons who led
in the tasks which required voluntary consensus.
The evidence indicates that during external threat in both cases, Cherokee
and precivilized Mesopotairian villages, first the body of elders, peace
priests, took control because they were trusted and respected on an intervillage level. Once the villages had formed states in order to maintain
continuity "new forms of legitimate physical coercion soon appeared"
(Gearing 1962:110). With the appearance of physical coercion the leader
ship of sodalities structured on the basis of hierarchical command took
political control from the leadership drawn from egalitarian structured
units. This means that competing theories of social structure are of key
import in the development of state organizations. With the shifting of
the dynamic balance toward the hierarchical command theory of social

416

relations, we have the appearance of states, at least in the above cases.

This means that as long as the Banari Easter ceremonial continues to sym
bolize a dynamic adjustment between the two structural types of social
relations and in which the final adjustment is a return to the Church,
Our Mother, and the local village organization, a Mayo state is not likely
to arise. As long as the Pariserom and the theory of social structure
which they represent are destroyed on Holy Saturday and the men are re
integrated into traditional egalitarian Mayo society, Mayos will not be
politically capable of presenting a united front against non-Mayos. Nev
ertheless, Mayo ethnic identity does exist and is symbolized in another
set of ceremonials as described and analyzed by L. Crumrine (1966) in,
"Ceremonial Exchange as a Mechanism in Tribal Integration among the
Mayos of Northwest Mexico. " However, for Mayo culture and in terms
of present cultural ecology, this may be of survival value because a
Mayo state is obviously no longer possible in Northwest Mexico.
At this point we are able to make several suggestions concerning
a typology of initiation ritual. Associated with small-scale egalitarian
societies (tribal) is initiation ritual involving the introduction of youth,
sometimes only young women or only young men, often both, into
adulthood and emphasizing the egalitarian structure of the society.
Often these societies are not the simplest societies but rather, as Young
mentions, the "middle-level" or mid-range societies. He (Young 1962:382)

417

argues that male solidarity based upon local residence is most strongly
manifest in a middle-level society. At this level of socio-cultural com
plexity at least two sub-types of initiation ritual exist: a sub-type
associated with isolated and unilineal societies, as discussed byYoung
and Cohen, in which all young men must be initiated, and a sub-type
associated with less isolated, or enclaved and bilateral societies like
the Mayo. The Easter ceremonial, for example, does not include all the
young men within a single sodality or societal unit having initiation
functions. This type of ritual associated with egalitarian societies
then may be contrasted with the rituals of rebellion as described by
Gluckman and others and associated with larger-scale hierarchical
societies (chiefdoms and native states). In a sense these types of
ritual are mirror images. The ritual of rebellion within a dominantly
hierarchical society reduces conflict through the enactment of the de
struction and reestablishment of the hierarchical structural principle.
On the other hand, the Easter ceremonial within a dominantly egalitarian
society reduces conflict through the establishment of a hierarchical
structure and then its destruction. One is a simple transformation of
the other. Also, it seems likely that movement from an egalitarian to a
hierarchical society might involve a transformation in the structure of
ritual of this nature. This concept of transformation would harmonize
nicely with Gearing's "Mesopotamian career to statehood" (1962:106).

418

Also, this line or argument follows the suggestion of Norbeck, Walker,

and Cohen (1962:480-481) that ritual should be studied within specific
contexts and then comparison should take place at the level of integrated
socio-cultural units.
The Banari Easter ceremonial stimulates that which is still pos
sible in Sonora today, not a Mayo state organization, but initiate identi
fication with a local Mayo community and a Mayo world view. The
initiate achieves personality integration, emotional-social anchorage
and also the Mayo solution to a basic cultural problem, that of the mean
ing of life and death. Through participation within the Easter ceremonial,
the Mayo has observed Mayo world view symbolized in action. Referring
back to the above quote from R. Spicer (1939:163), he has seen the arche
type of birth, life, death, and rebirth as symbolized by the life, death,
and resurrection of Christ. Because of the Easter ceremonial, death is
meaningful, "Everyone before this time had been dying, but when Jesus
brought all these things and taught them then they all lived. . . . "
Death,however, is meaningful only in terms of life or rebirth, while life
and rebirth are understandable only in terms of death. Both relate to the
understanding of the meaning of stability and change, and being and be
coming. Levi-Strauss (1963) points this out very succinctly in Totemism.
He argues that totemism provides a solution of binary oppositions oi i:his
nature through synthesis and ritual mediation (see also Levi-Strauss 1966).

419

In this sense, modern philosophical systems are quite similar to what

have been called primitive world views. Levi-Strauss (1963:98-99) argues
that Bergson's philosophy agrees closely with that of a Dakota wise man
because both attempt to mediate the opposed principles of being and
becoming
. . . I t s e e m s t h a t t h e relationship results from o n e a n d t h e
same desire to apprehend in a total fashion the two aspects of
reality which the philosopher terms continuous and discontinu
ous; from the same refusal to choose between the two; and from
.the same effort to see them as complementary perspectives giv
ing on to the same truth. Radcliffe-Brown, though abstaining
from metaphysical considerations which were foreign to his tem
perament, followed the same route, when he reduced totemism to
a particular form of a universal tendency, in order to reconcile
opposition and integration.
However, within the mediation of oppositions is found a powerful tool for
integration, personality, social, and cultural. A tool which we have sugtested is operative in the Banari Easter ceremonial which represents an
other formulation of Levi-Strauss' (1963:89) "general problem, viz how
to make opposition, instead of being an obstacle to integration, serve
rather to produce it." Besides Levi-Strauss, Nadel (1953) considers this
question and suggests that oscillation between the two nodes of a binary
opposition is basic in human social behavior. "Rhythm rather than rest"
may be an important component of a social system, suggests Nadel (1953:
342). The Mayo Easter ceremonial symbolizes this constant oscillation,
which is basic in personality, social, and cultural identity as well as in
social and cultural integration. This concept of synthesis of oppositions

420

serving to produce integration also proves to be a useful tool in the synthe

sis of the three explanatory models, because basic to all three is the
synthesis of oppositions. The dual basis of the personality, the dual
basis of Mayo social structure, and the dual basis of Mayo cultural struc
ture, all are synthesized within the Banari Easter ceremonial resulting in
reduction of hostility and personality integration, social-emotional
anchorage in the local Mayo community, identity with two alternating
principles of social structure, and identity with the Mayo world view.
Thus, the concept of constant oscillation within systems of binary oppo
sitions proves a basic point of agreement and synthesis among the three
explanatory models.
In conclusion, we have presented in as much detail as possible
the Banari Mayo Easter ceremonial, discussed it specially in terms of
initiation ritual, analyzed several explanations of initiation ritual, and
in terms of oscillation between binary oppositions have attempted to
synthesize the several explanatory models. Since a great deal of the
monograph involves presentation of data, numerous suggestions for addi
tional research and analysis may be made. We have attempted to remain
with the Banari data and have purposely not digressed to the huge body of
comparative data on Easter ceremonials, masked sodalities, or ceremonial
ism in general among Cahitans or in Northwest Mexico or the Southwest
culture area. A study of comparative ceremonialism in this area would be

421

of immense theoretical and practical value. Edward Spicer has published

a suggestive article, "Apuntes Sobre el Tipo de Religion de los Utozatecas
Centrales," as well as a comprehensive general monograph, Cycles of
Conquest, on processes of culture contact within the Greater Southwest;
however, a great deal more work is necessary before we have a really
comprehensive account of comparative ceremonialism in this area of the
world. Also, each of the explanatory models require testing in greater
detail. Intensive studies of Mayo child rearing and personality character
istics would be useful for a more intensive evaluation of psychoanalytic
explanations of Mayo behavior. Intensive studies of additional life his
tories and geneaologies of a much larger sample of ceremonial partici
pants would yield increased insight into the structure and function of
Mayo ceremonialism. And lastly, the ideas suggested by Eliade, LeviStrauss, and Nadel which are verified in somewhat greater detail in this
monograph, that oscillation between binary oppositions is an important
mechanism in social and cultural integration, deserve further critical
examination and development.

422

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO
TUCSON

V TEXAS

NOGALES

SONORA
CHIHUAHUA

HERMOSILLO

-*\
. O

BAJA

CHIHUAHUA
GUAYMAS

.CALIFORNIA
BANARI

iAMALOBO \

r LOS
MOCHIS'

SINALQAF

DURANGO

CULIACAN

O
DURANGO

Figure 1: Map of Northwest Mexico

423

CHURCH

1 CEMETERY /
JT MASK FIRE

CHURCH CROSS .j. ^

BELLSCZI

PASKOLA

CEMETERY

RAMADA

PARISERO
HOUSE

PUEBLO CROSS
TREE

i
Figure 2: Kalbario, The First Way of the Cross

KALBARIO

.HOUSE

OPEN FIELD

PASK6ME
RAMADA

rm
CHURCH

CEMETERY

;/<*>

&

/
I

CEMETERY

'
I

\
\

Figure 3: The Second Way of the Cross, for Holy Week

425

MASK IN REST POSITION

BACK
b MASK CONSTRUCTION

FIGURE 4.

APAKOBA MASK

FRONT

426

PILATO
ALL

Jj KAPITAN
SARGENTO

FLAUTERO,
TAMPALERO

KABO

APAKOBA

Figure 5: The Parisero Social Structure

NEED

PILATO (ONLY LATE IN LENT)

CHURCH
MAESTRO
SECULAR
TEOPOPO
KOBANARO

HIOHTELIO

CULT OF
THE WOODS,
PASK<5LA
YO? OWE

SACRED
SACRISTAN

CANTORA

PILATO

MO?ORO
OTHER

MANEHARO

PARESIM
PARISEROM

BOKALES

BAHI

ALTAR GIRLS,MATA&NI,
ANHILITAS(GOD MOTHERS)

BAHI MARIAM

ALPERESIM

DEER,
MUSICANS,

MEN OF
PUEBLO

WOMEN OF
PUEBLO

PASKOLA

INTERACTION

INTERACTION

FIGURE 6. THE BANARI EASTER SOCIAL STRUCTURE

to

428

RULES

OF CEREMONIAL

MONEY

PRAY

COMPLEX

EACH T0 OLA CEMETERY

DON'T DON'T NO
CROSS
GIVE
SELL LIGHT PLACEMENT FRIDAY
MONEY
\

WORK

MANDA-KRENSIA

PRAYERS

CREDO

MUKTI

CONFESSION

SEX

RULES

NO
DRINK

NO
MEAT

KONTI

IDENTITY

OF STATUS

Figure 7: Interrelation of the Rules of the Ceremonial

POLICE

429

Church - C

Maestro - CM
Cantora - CC
Sacrist&n - CS
Bahl Maria - CBm
Madrina of Bahl Maria - CBmM
Bahl Reyes - CBr
Madrina of Bahl Reyes - CBrM
Mata&lnl - CMt
Mo?oro - CMo
Paskdme - CP
Paskome of the Tlneran - CPT
Pask6me of the Santa Kuru - CPK
Pares - CPP
?Alpares - CPAp
?Alaw&sln - CPA
Women of the Village - CW
Men of the Village - CMe
Church - AT

Artifact - A
Sacred Ways - AW

Kalb&io - AWK
Stations - AWK1.... AWKl^
Teopopo Cikola - AWT
Bowers
- AWT1...AWT8
Sewatlrl - AWS

?0|ola

Image - I

- 10
madrina - IOM
Cross - IR
Pueblo Cross - IRP
Crucifix, large - IC
Crucifix, small - ICs
Crucifix, large, hearers - ICB
Crucifix, small, bearers - ICsB
Mary - IM
Mary bearers - 1MB
San Juan - IJ

Parlsero - P

Pllto - PP
PllAto on horseback - PPH
Kapit&i - PK
Kabo - PKa
Flaut&ro - PF
Tampalero - PT
Capakdba - PC y
Special Parisero Group - PG
Parlsro Ya^u^lm - FY

Activities

Preparation Ritual (Konti) - RP

Special Event - RE
Completion Ritual or Procession - RC
Closing Ritual (Kontl) - RC1
Friday Processions - REF

70ola*s

Not specified - X
Worshiper's left side of the church - M-slde.
Worshiper's right side of the church - F-slde.

Figure 8: Code for the Activities Section

430

Figure 9:

The Incongruity Figures of Berlyne

GLOSSARY
The following underscored words are either Mayo or Spanish loan
words. The Mayo vowels and consonants are pronounced similarly to
those of Spanish. Unless otherwise noted by written accent, the accent
in Mayo falls on the first syllable. The Spanish loan words are indicated
by an asterisk (*) following the word.
9 abaso sewacottonwood leaves.
?Alperessecond ranking Paskome;
^Alperes Yo^owefirst ranking **A1peres;
?Alperes Segundosecond ranking ? Alperes;
? Alperes Terserolowest ranking ? Alperes.
?Alawasin (pi. ?Alawasim)lowest ranking Paskome;
?Alawasin Yo ?owehighest ranking ?Alawasin;
o

Alawasin Segundosecond ranking

Alawasin;

^Alawasin Terserolowest ranking ''Alawasin.

^Alwasfllow ranking officers of the Matadin sodality.
angelitas*little angels, or children in the Bahi Mariam.
''anfaworld or realm.
^animam vukliaburethe dead are going to bring the rains.
apostol ^--apostle.
431

432

arokosiwater gourd.

Bahi Marfamchildren promised to serve, with godmothers, during the

Easter ceremony; The Three Marys.
bahi puntarathree-pointed.
Bahi Reyesimthe Three Kings, or the church sodalities and the men of
the pueblo as opposed to the Pariserom.
bakacane.
bakasewamflowering cane.
batoatfaigodfather.
batoayegodmother.
bato usigodson.
beraboSamsandals.
bokalesaids to the church governors.
bo oroad or way.
Campo Santo*cemetery.
Cantoras*women singers of the church.
carrizo*cane.
compania*the godparents of the ?0?ola.
Capak6bammasked, lowest ranking members of the Parisero sodality.
apayekamapakobam.
Sibagoat.
ejercicio*ritual drill or exercise.
esperanza*hope.

433

Espiritum An faspirit world of the dead.

Flautero (pi. Flauterom)flutists in Parisero sodality.

garbanzos*chickpeas.
Go ? imcoyotes, a Mayo military sodality, which has "spies" within the
ranks of the Pariserom during the Easter season.
gringo*English-speaking person.
hamyo ''olarespected old woman.
o
he ekaa large cloth shade carried over an image in a procession.
hiohteliochurch secretary.
Y

hipehtamwoven cane mats.

historia*folk history.
hitoljfonative healer or curer.
HurasimJudases, or dapakobam. Sometimes applied to the whole
Parisero sodality.
Huya

Anfasacred forest world.

hu ? upamesquite.
7 ili sewaa little flower or leaf.
Krensiathe beliefs.
infierno*hell.
^Itom ?Aai, ^O^olaOur Father, God the old man, the sun.
o
o
o
Itom fAai fUsiOur Father, Son; Jesus.
^Itom ?AalOur Father.
^Itom ?AyeOur Mother, Mary.

434
?

?
Itom kokoko. bwiva ? itom bwa 1
anakewhen we die the earth will eat us.

lacal*branch wickerwork plastered with mud.

iefe*chief.
Tudjfos*Judases or Pariserom.
KabavumPilatom on horseback.
Kabo(pi. Kabos) Corporals, lower-ranking members of the Parisero
sodality.
KalbarioCalvary, the Way of the Cross, or the last station of the Way
of the Cross.
kampanimchurch bells.
Kapitan(pi. Kapitanes) second-ranking status in the Parisero sodality.
ka turinot good, or bad.
kefremalevaa Mayo greeting, "How are you?"
kohetesfirecrackers.
koonicrow.
kontiprocession, or surrounding of a sacred object.
o
konti bo 'oWay of the Cross, or a procession path.
konti bo?o batwe^ithe Way of the Cross going toward the river.
konti bo?o tiopota Nikolathe Way of the Cross going around the
church.
KostumbreParisero sodality; also the customs which they guard.
Kristota benasilike Christ, in place of Christ.
kupte Kristo. kupteyo Kristocrucify Christ; crucified Christ.
kurus yo^owechurch patio cross.

435

kuruwaare crossed.
lansumwooden swords.
Las Cruzacitas*a Mayo sacred place marked with several crosses.
Lazaro*the third Friday procession of Lent.
Limosna*gifts or contributions for the support of a ceremony.
liston*ribbon.
loriaglory or heaven or the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.
loria ?ultimathe Easter Sunday procession.
lulukateknoon.
Luturiaheaven.
madrinas*ceremonial mothers, godmothers.
Maestrolay minister.
mandaa promise to give a ceremony in exchange for good health or life.
maneharochurch manager, or treasurer.
mascara*mask.
masodeer, part-time ritual and dance specialist.
Mataini--a dance sodality of the church.
matraka wooden clapper.
mestizo*a non-Indian Mexican.
misa*mass.

Monaha Yo owehead of the Matacin sodality.

Monaha Segundosecond in leadership of the Matacin sodality.

436

o
Mo proassistant to the Maestro, director of the Paskome.
mukilathe dead or a spirit.
muktito pay one's respects to the saints, to cross one's self and pray.
muslkomusician.
naiki kolorimfour colors.
napo kurfxhuwaone is crossed by ashes, on Ash Wednesday.

?
O

omom

? ^
ibaktiathey embrace one another.

omom tebotuakthey greet one another.

?O ?olaold man.
o
' ompariangry.
padrlno*godfather.
Pareshighest ranking Paskome;
o
Pares Yo' owefirst ranking Pares;
Pares Segundosecond ranking Pares;
Pares Terserolowest ranking Pares.
Pariseromthe sodality chiefly in charge of the Easter ceremonial, also
known as the Army of Pilate.
Parisero Yaut&imofficers of the Parisero sodality.
paskomore secular aspect of a Mayo ceremony.
Pasko PersonasimPaskome.
Pas kolaa part-time dance and ritual specialist.
^
O
Paskola Yo 'owethe senior, or head Paskola.
Paskomeceremonial hosts.

437

pelota*kick ball, a game.

Pilato(pi. Pilatom) first-ranking status of the Parisero sodality, Pilate;
Pilato Yo ** owehead Pilato;
Pilato Segundosecond Pilato;
Pilato Terserothird Pilato;
Pilato IscariotPilato who impersonates Judas Iscariot.
Pilatota ^O^owimmen of Pilate, the bapakobam.
ploea large mesquite-like tree.
presota benasilike a prisoner.
ramada*a log and brush shelter.
rehutiamdeer or goat hoof rattles.
salud*greetings.
San Juan*Saint John.
Santa Kuruhthe cross upon which Christ was killed, the Holy Cross.
Santfsima Tiniranthe Holy Trinity, patron of Baiiari church.
santos*saints.
santo sewathe holy flowers, or rewards in heaven.
Santo Viernes*Good Friday.
Sargento*sergeant, member of the Parisero sodality.
sewaterisacred way.
sikilired.
soldados*dapakobam.

Sontaomsoldiers, dapakobam.
sunnicane
takalaimY-shaped sticks.
Tampalerodrummer. member of the Parisero sodality.
tattanake they are going to throw down [something].
tebatpatio.
tebatpo kurus(pi. tebatpo kurusim) house patio cross.
tekiaceremonial obligations resulting from status or office.
tekipanoaceremonial labor.
tenebarimcocoon rattles.
teopopo kobanarochurch governor.
Tinieblas (Lat.)Wednesday evening ceremonies of Holy Week.
tomita suayaleotreasurer of the church.
toroa wood, torote in Spanish.
tropa*troop, or soldiers; dapakobam.
tuisi lotilato be really exhausted.
tumba*tomb.
1

ultimo kontithe last procession of the sixth Friday of Lent.

? urnaan urn.
ya^u&mchiefs, commanders, or officers.
yo 7 otuligood old person.
yoribo^amshoes.

439

WaresmaLent.
wikosa bwa^erope belt or sash used by the angels to pull the soul of
the dead to heaven.

LIST OF REFERENCES
Anderson, Frank G.
1955 "The Pueblo Kachina Cult: A Historical Reconstruction,"
Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 11:404-419.
Barnouw, Victor
1963 Culture and Personality. Homewood, 111.: Dorsey Press.
Beals, Ralph L.
1943 "The Aboriginal Culture of the Cahita Indians," IberoAmericana 19.
1945

The Contemporary Culture of the Cahita Indians. Bureau of

American Ethnology, Bulletin 142, Washington.

Berlin, Brent and A. Kimball Romney

1964 "Descriptive Semantics of Tzeltal Numeral Classifiers,"
American Anthropologist 66(3. part 2):79-98. In A. Kimbal
Romney and Roy Goodwin D"Andrade (eds.), Transcultural
Studies in Cognition.
Berlyne, Daniel E.
1966a "Curiosity and Exploration: Animals spend much of their
time seeking stimuli whose significance raises problems
for psychology," Science 153:25-33).
1966b "Conflict and Arousal: Novel stimuli tend to heighten
awareness and to facilitate learning and decision,"
Scientific American 215(2):82-87. August.
Berreman, Gerald D.
1962 Behind Many Masks. Monograph Number 4, Society for
Applied Anthropology.
Bettelheim, Bruno
1954 Symbolic Wounds. Glencoe, 111.: Free Press.
Bohannan, Paul
1963 Social Anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
440

441

Bronowskl, J.
1967 "The Reach of Imagination," The American Scholar 36(2): 193
201. Spring.
Buelna, Eustaquio
1891 Arte de la Lenqua Cahita. Mexico.
Burton, R. V., and J. W. M. Whiting
1961 "The Absent Father and Cross-sex Identity," Merrill-Palmer
Quarterly of Behavior and Development. 7:85-95.
Cavan, Sherri
1967 Liquor License: An Ethnography of Bar Behavior. Chicago:
Aldine Publishing Company.
Cohen, Yehudi A.
1964a "The Establishment of Identity in a Social Nexus: The Special
Case of Initiation Ceremonies and Their Relationship to Value
and Legal Systems," American Anthropologist 66(3):529552.
1964b The Transition from Childhood to Adolescence: Cross-Cu'ltural Studies of Initiation Ceremonies. Legal Systems, and
Incest Taboos. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
1966

"On Alternative Views of the Individual in Culture-andPersonality Studies," American Anthropologist 68(2):355361.

Collard, Howard, and Elisabeth Scott Collard

1962 Vocabularlo Mayo. Mexico: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Crumrine, Lynne Scoggins
1966 "Ceremonial Exchange as a Mechanism in Tribal Integration
Among the Mayos of Northwest Mexico." Unpublished Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Arizona. In press as a number
in the series of the Anthropological Papers of the University
of Arizona. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Crumrine, N. Ross
1966 "The Problem of Ethnic Identity: the Study of Man,"
Transaction 3(6):48-50.

442

Crumrine, N. Ross
1968 "Anthropological Antinomy: The Importance of an Empirical
Basis for a Concept of Anthropological Fact," Anthropologi
cal Quarterly 41 (1):3446.
Densmore, Frances
1932 Yuman and Yaqui music. Bureau of American Ethnology,
Bulletin 110, Washington.
Dignan, Sister M. Howard
1967 "Ego Identity of the Modern Religious Woman," Tournal of
Religion and Health 6(2): 102125.
Dozier, Edward P.
1954 "The Hopi-Tewa of Arizona," University of California Publi
cations in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 44, No. 3.
1961

"Rio Grande Pueblos," In Edward Spicer (ed.), Perspectives

in American Indian Culture Change. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 94-168.

1966

Hano: A Tewa Indian Community in Arizona. New York:

Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Eggan, Rred
1950 . Social Organization of the Western Pueblos. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Eliade, Mircea
1965 Rites and Symbols of Initiation. New York: Harper and Row
Torchbook.
1967

"Cosmogonic Myth and 'Sacred History,'" Religious Studies

2(2):171-184.

Erasmus, Charles J.
1961 Man Takes Control: Cultural Development and American Aid.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
1967

"Culture Change in Northwest Mexico, " In Tulian H. Steward

(ed.), Contemporary Change in Traditional Societies. Urbana,
Illinois: University-of Illinois Press, pp. 3-131.

443

Erikson, Erik H.
1963 Childhood and Society. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc.
Firth, Raymond
1956 Elements of Social Organization. London: Watts & Co.
1958

Human Types. An Introduction to Social Anthropology. New

York: A Mentor Book, The New American Library of World
Literature, Inc.

Frake, Charles O.
1964 "How to Ask for a Drink in Subanun," American Anthropologist
66(6, Part 2): 127-134, ln_Dell Hymes and John J. Gumperz
(eds.), The Ethnography of Communication.
French, Kathrine S.
1955 "Culture Segments and Variation in Contemporary Social Cere
monialism on the Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon." Ph.D.
dissertation, Columbia University.
Freud, Sigmund
1939 Moses and Monotheism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Gearing, Fred
1958 "The Structural Poses of 18th Century Cherokee Villages,"
American Anthropologist 60:1148-1157.
1962

"Priests and Warriors: Social Structures for Cherokee

Politics in the 18th Century." American Anthropological
Association, Memoir 93.

Gill, Mario
1957 La Conguista del Valle del Fuerte. Mexico City: ITM, S.A.
Gluckman, Max
1959 Custom and Conflict in Africa. Glencoe, Illinois: The firee
Press.
Gluckman, Max (ed.)
1962 Essays on the Ritual of Social Relations. Manchester,
England: Manchester University Press.

444

Goffman, Erving
1959 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, New
York: Doubleday & Co., Inc.
Haury, Emil W.
1962 "The Greater American Southwest," in Robert J. Braidwood
and Gordon R. Willey (eds.), Courses Toward Urban Life.
Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company, pp. 106-131.
Henry, Jules
1966 "Discussion," on Erik H. Erikson, "Eight Ages of Man," a
chapter reprinted from Childhood and Society. International
Journal of Psychiatry 2(3):304-306.
Jay, Edward J.
1964 "The Concepts of 'Field' and 'Network' in Anthropological
Research," Man 64(177):137-139.
Jones, Volney H.
1951 MS. Report 320, Ethnobotanical Laboratory. Colorado
Springs: Colorado College.
Keesing, Roger M.
1967 "Statistical Models and Decision Models of Social Structure:
A Kwaio Case, " Ethnology 6(1):116.
Kuper, Hilda
1964 The Swazi: A South African Kingdom. New York: Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston.
Kurath, Gertrude P.
1966 "The Kinetic Ecology of Yaqui Dance Instrumentation, "
Ethnomusicology 10(l):28-42.
Langer, Susanne K.
1948 Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason,
Rite, and Art. New York: A Mentor Book.
Leach, E. R.
1961 Pul Eliya: A Study of Land Tenure and Kinship. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
1965

Political Systems of Highland Burma": A Study of Kachin

Social Structure. Boston: Beacon Press.

445

Levi-Strauss, Claude
1963 Totemism. Boston: Beacon Press.
1966

The Savage Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lienhardt, Godfrey
1961 Divinity and Experience: the Religion of the Dinka. Oxford,
England: Clarendon Press.
Linton, Ralph
1936 The Study of Man. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.
Malinowski, Bronislaw
1941-42 "Man's Culture and Man's Behavior, " Sigma Xi Quarterly.
Vols. XXIX, XXX..
1944

A Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays. Chapel

Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

1961

The Dynamics of Culture Change: An Inquiry into Race Rela

tions in Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Mead, Margaret
1949 Male and Female. New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc.
Metzger, Duane G. and Gerald E. Williams
1966 "Some Procedures and Results in the Study of Native Categories:
Tzeltal 'Firewood,'" American Anthropologist 68(2):389407.
Nadel, S. F.
1952
"Witchcraft in Four African Societies; An Essay in Compari
son, " American Anthropologist 54:18-29.
1953

The Foundations of Social Anthropology. Glencoe: Free Press.

Norbeck, Edward
1963 "African Rituals of Conflict, " American Anthropologist 65(6):
1254-1279.
Norbeck, Edward, Donald E. Walker, and Mimi Cohen
1962
"The Interpretation of Data: Puberty Rites. " American Anthro
pologist 64"(3)i463-485.

446

Opler, Morris E.
1945 "Themes as Dynamic Forces in Culture," American Tournal of
Sociology 51:198-206.
Painter, Muriel Thayer, Refugio Savala, and Ignacio Alvarez (eds.)
1955 AYagui Easter Sermon. Social Science Bulletin No. 26.
Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Parsons, Elsie Clews and Ralph L. Beals
1934
"The Sacred Clowns of the Pueblo and Mayo-Yaqui Indians, "
American Anthropologist 36(4):491-514.
Pospisil, Leopold
1963 The Kapauku of West New Guinea. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston.
Proyecto de Programa de Gobierno del Estado de Sonora
1957 Mexico, D.F. Impresiones Modernas, S.A.
Radcliffe-Brown, A. R.
1952 Structure and Function in Primitive Society. Glencoe,
Illinois: The Free Press.
1957

A Natural Science of Society. Glencoe, Illinois: The Flree

Press.

1958

Method in Social Anthropology. Chicago, Illinois: Univer

sity of Chicago Press.

1964

The Andaman Islanders. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.

Roberts, John M. and Malcolm J. Arth.

. 1966 "Dyadic Elicitation in Zuni: Use of "Teacher-Pupil' Dyads
in Ethnology," El Palacio 73(2):2741.
* Singer, Milton
1961 "A Survey of Culture and Personality Theory and Research,"
in B. Kaplan (ed.). Studying Personality Cross-Culturally.
Evanston, 111.: Row, Peterson, pp. 9-90.
Spicer, Edward H.
1940 Pascua. a Yagui Village in Arizona. Chicago: University of
Chicago Rress.

447

Spicer, Edward H.
1954 Potam, a Yaqui Village in Sonora. American Anthropological
A s s o c i a t i o n , Memoir N o . 7 7 .
1958

"Social Structure and Cultural Process in Yaqui Religious

Acculturation," American Anthropologist LX:433-441.

1961

"Yaqui," in Spicer (ed.). Perspectives in American Indian

Culture Change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
7-93.

1962

Cycles of Conguest: The Impact of Spain. Mexico, and the

United States on the Indians of the Southwest. 1533-1960.
Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press.

1964

Apuntes Sobre el Tipo de Religion de los Uto-aztecas

Centrales. Actas y Memorias del XXXV Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, Mexico, pp. 27-38.

Spicer, Rosamond B.
1939 "The Easter Fiesta of the Yaqui Indians of Pascua, Arizona. "
Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology,
University of Chicago.
Spiro, Melford E.
1961a "Social Systems, Personality, and Functional Analysis,"
in B. Kaplan (ed.), Studying Personality Cross-Culturally.
Evanston, 111.: Row, Peterson, pp. 93-127.
1961b "An Overview and a Suggested Reorientation," in F. L. K.
Hsu (ed.), Psychological Anthropology. Homewood, 111.:
Dorsey Press.
Toor, Rrances
1947 A Treasury of Mexican Folkways. New York: Crown Publishers.
Turner, Victor W.
1964 "Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage,"
in Tune Helm (ed.), Symposium on New Approaches to the
Study of Religion. American Ethnological Society, Seattle:
University of Washington Press.
1967

The Forest of Symbols. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University

Press.

448

van Gennep, Arnold

1960 The Rites of Passage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee.
Warner, W. Lloyd
1958 A Black Civilization: A Study of an Australian Tribe. New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
Whiting, John W. M.
1961 See Burton, R. V. and J. W. M. Whiting
1962

"Comment," on F. W. Young's, "The Function of Male

Initiation Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Test of an Alternative
Hypothesis," American Tournal of Sociology 67:391-394.

Whiting, John W. M.
1964 "Effects of Climate on Certain Cultural Practices," In Ward
H. Goodenough (ed.), Explorations in Cultural Anthropology:
Essays in Honor of George Peter Murdock. New York:
McGraw-Hill, pp. 511-544.
Whiting, John W. M., R. Kluckhohn, and A. S. Anthony
1958 "The Function of Male Initiation Ceremonies at Puberty, "
in E.. E. Maccoby, T. Newcomb, and E. Hartley (eds.),
Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt,
pp. 359-370.
_ Young, firank W.
1962
"The Function of Male Initiation Ceremonies: A CrossCultural Test of an Alternative Hypothesis,'! American
Tournal of Sociology 67:379-396.
1965

Initiation Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Status

Dramatization. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company,
Inc.