Marianna Keisalo-Galván Cosmic Clowns Convention, Invention, and Inversion in the Yaqui Easter Ritual Research Series in Anthropology University of Helsinki Academic Dissertation Research Series in Anthropology University of Helsinki, Finland Distributed by Unigrafia P.O. Box 4 (Vuorikatu 3 A) 00014 University of Helsinki Finland Fax +358-9-7010 2370 http://www.unigrafia.fi Photographs by Elihú Galván ISSN 1458-3186 ISBN 978-952-10-7122-5 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-7123-2 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2011 Contents List of Illustrations........................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ viii Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Research questions ............................................................................................. 3 Invention and convention ................................................................................. 4 A holistic view of meaning ............................................................................... 6 Tropes and the relativity of meaning ............................................................ 10 Structure of the study ...................................................................................... 12 Analyzing ritual ................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 1 History and the Present: Becoming and Staying Yaqui ............ 18 Before the Conquest and first encounters with the Spanish ...................... 19 Becoming Yaqui: the myth of the Talking Tree ............................................ 21 Yaquis in the Jesuit mission ............................................................................ 22 After the Jesuits and independent Mexico .................................................... 26 Yaqui diaspora and the recognition of landrights in Sonora ..................... 28 Yaqui communities today ............................................................................... 29 Cócorit: the field site ........................................................................................ 32 Conclusions: continuity as convention .......................................................... 35 Chapter 2 Yaqui Religion: Realms, Beings, and Forms of Participation .. 37 The different realms of Yaqui cosmology ..................................................... 37 Fiesta and the deer dance ................................................................................ 39 The “old man of the fiesta:” the Pascola clowns .......................................... 41 The Pascolas’ performance compared to the Chapayekas ......................... 45 Jesus in the Yaqui land: St. Peter as a trickster figure ................................. 47 Yaqui Christianity ............................................................................................ 49 Participating in religion ................................................................................... 51 Ritual kinship .................................................................................................... 54 The ceremonial groups .................................................................................... 56 The church group .......................................................................................... 56 The Caballeros ............................................................................................... 57 The Fariseos ................................................................................................... 57 The Matachinis .............................................................................................. 58 The church and konti ....................................................................................... 58 Conclusions: flexibility in participation, stability in religion ..................... 59 Chapter 3 The Chapayekas as a Ceremonial Group ..................................... 62 Transformation of the performer ................................................................... 63 The mask ............................................................................................................ 65 iv Choosing the character .................................................................................... 66 The different types of masks ........................................................................... 67 Chapayekas in Cócorit 2004, 2006 and 2007 ................................................. 69 Orejonas ......................................................................................................... 69 Viejitos and reyes .......................................................................................... 70 Cholos ............................................................................................................. 71 Circus clowns ................................................................................................ 71 Apaches .......................................................................................................... 72 Animals .......................................................................................................... 73 Others ............................................................................................................. 73 Movement and communication ..................................................................... 75 Interaction between the Chapayekas and spectators .................................. 77 The special status of the Chapayeka .............................................................. 79 Chapter 4 Easter in Cócorit ................................................................................ 81 The places .......................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 4.1 Lenten Rituals before Holy Week .............................................. 84 Ash Wednesday ................................................................................................ 84 The first Chapayeka ......................................................................................... 86 1st Friday ........................................................................................................... 87 2nd Friday.......................................................................................................... 90 3rd Friday .......................................................................................................... 91 4th Friday ........................................................................................................... 94 A funeral during Lent .................................................................................. 94 The konti ........................................................................................................ 95 5th Friday ........................................................................................................... 97 6th Friday ........................................................................................................... 99 A demasking .................................................................................................. 99 San Ramos ....................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 4.2 Holy Week .................................................................................... 104 Palm Sunday ................................................................................................... 104 Miercoles de tinieblas..................................................................................... 106 Maundy Thursday .......................................................................................... 108 The Last Supper and the capture of Jesus ................................................... 112 The running of the Viejito ............................................................................. 113 Good Friday .................................................................................................... 114 The encuentro.................................................................................................. 119 The Chapayeka fiesta ..................................................................................... 119 Sabado de Gloria............................................................................................. 120 Judas konti ....................................................................................................... 121 “The killing of the animals” .......................................................................... 121 v La Gloria – the final battle ............................................................................. 122 Sunday – La Gloria chiquita .......................................................................... 124 Chapter 5 The Ritual as a Conventional Trope ........................................... 126 Ritual images ................................................................................................... 127 Obviation – meaning as a process ................................................................ 129 The obviation model of the Yaqui Easter .................................................... 131 The image cycles of the Chapayekas and Jesus .........................................