BEWARE THE TIGER: THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF TIGER MASK PRODUCTION IN MEXICO by Angelica Beissel B.A., Concordia University, 1985 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology @AngelicaBeissel 1996 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 1996 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. APPROVAL Name : Angelica Henriette Beissel Degree: Master of Arts (Antliropology) Title of Thesis: Beware the Tiger: The Co~nmercializatio~lof Tiger Mask Production in Mexico Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Gary Teeple Dr. Marilyn Gates Senior Supervisor Associate Professor of Anthropology Department of Sociology and Anthoplogy Dr. Michael Kenny Professor of Ant1.lropology Department of Sociology and Anthropology Dr. Robert Anderson External Examiner Professor of Communication Department of Communication Simon Fraser University Date Approved: 6 Iq%T I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of TlresislProjectlExtended Essay Beware the Tiger: The Commercialization of Tiger Mask Production in Mexico Author: - (Signature) Angelica Henriette Beissel (Name) 17 April 1996 (Date) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Committee, Marilyn Gates, and Michael Kenny for their help and support. I would also like to express my gratitude to Robert Anderson for his time and interest, and Gary Teeple for his consideration and the confidence he has shown in me. In addition, a special thank-you goes to Gladys Durksen, Mickey Naisby and Chris Szafnicki from the Department, as well as Allan Rothenbush from Academic Computing Services and David Goodwin from Micro-Computing Facilities for their assistance and kindness. I am very grateful for having had the privilege to work with the skilled mask- makers of Zitlala (Guerrerro) and Santa Maria Huazolotitlcin (Oaxica) and their families. I would like to thank them for their co-operation and their trust in me. This thesis would not have been possible without them. I also appreciate the assistance given to me by various members of the Instituto Nacional Indigenista (National Institute of Indian Affairs), Professor Andraka in Chilapa, the staff from the Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology) in Mexico City, and Alejandro Siqueiros and Martha Wood from the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, Canada. Finally, I thank my family and friends for their loyalty, their understanding and their encouragement. They gave me the courage to complete my work. PREFACE Tiger! Tiger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand, and what dread feet? What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears, And watered heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? Tiger! Tiger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? (Blake in Reeves, 1968: 23). ABSTRACT The thesis examines the symbolic and ideological implications of the commercialization of tiger mask production in two Mexican villages. In Santa Marfa Huazolotitla'n (OaxAca) commercialization is quite extensive, whereas in Zitlala (Guerrerro) tiger masks are limited to the market economy. Pattems of meanings attached to the tiger masks, and shifts occurring within these patterns as ritual symbols and commercial products, are identified and analyzed. Primary factors affecting the growth of the markets in Guerrerro and Oaxica, which include the expansion of the transportation network and tourist industry, are described in detail. The secular and sacred nature of the tiger masks are explored in a symbolic context. The data upon which the thesis is based were gathered in the following ways: participant observation; as a field researcher in Santa Maria Huazolotitldn and Zitlala for four months and one month respectively beginning in January and concluding in early June, 1992; an interview survey of fifteen professional mask-makers in Santa Maria Huazolotitla'n and ten in Zitlala; fifteen intermedianos (i.e., middlemen including also representatives of government organizations and artisans cooperatives, store owners and market vendors with their own stalls); and a survey of the costs incurred by tiger mask production. Participant observation focused on the Dance of the Tejorones (young men who play the role of hunters in the Dance) taking place annually in early February in Santa Maria Huazolotitla'n and the Tiger Fight taking place in Zitlala from May 2nd to May 5th also every year. Survey interviews elicited information on local conceptions and explanations of the contexts and meanings underlying tiger mask production, while the cost survey provided prices of tools and materials used, as well as information on transportation costs. A framework of Turnerian symbolic theory and theories of household production are applied to the data collected. In general, the investigation provides a correlation between the economic and symbolic processes underlying tiger mask production which tend to be dealt with separately in the current literature on tiger mask production. In addition, the socio-economic significance of tiger mask production is often discussed as though they are separate in meaning and does not take into account the syncratic nature of the tiger masks as ceremonial symbols. The thesis serves to illustrate that the economic and symbolic are not mutually exclusive as confirmed by the mask-makers of both communities who demonstrate that the commercialization of the tiger mask does not diminish its importance as a ritual symbol. DEDICATION To my parents and my sister, Myma for their patience and support. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL ..............................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................UI PREFACE ............................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ........................................................................................... v.. DEDICATION ...................................................................................... vu TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................viii Map ................................................................................................... ix I . THEORY AND METHODOLOGY ..............................................................1 Introduction: Research Problem ........................................................... 1 Research Questions ......................................................................... -3 Review of Relevant Literature ..............................................................4 The Trouble with Tourism .........................................................4 Garcia Canclini: Concerns About Cornrnoditization ...........................8 The Rhythm of Ritual ............................................................ 15 Theoretical Orientation ...................................................................-21 The Principles of Household Production ......................................21 Victor Turner: Liminitas and Cornunitas ....................................23 Methodology ..............................................................................-25 Organization ................................................................................32 I1. ORIGINS ...................................................................................... 35 Introduction ................................................................................ -35 Guerrerro and Oaxtica: Past and Present ............................................... 37 Meeting at the Marketplace .............................................................. 49 Pawprints in the Mud of Time............................................................ 61 Rebellion and Responsibility at the Fiesta .............................................. 72 Conclusion .................................................................................. 75 III . COMBAT AND CONFLICT IN ZITLALA. GUERRERRO ............................78 Introduction .................................................................................78 Socio-Economic Organization ............................................................ 81 Preparing for Battle .......................................................................