LAKE PATZCUARO
(1897)
Mexico has few large lakes, the largest, Chapala, having an area of
only 1,685 square kilometers. Patzcuaro is much smaller, but far more
picturesque. The form is something like a fat horseshoe; fine hills rise
around it on all sides, behind which are mountain heights, with jagged
outlines; pretty islands dot its waters, and twenty-two villages or
towns of Tarascan indians are situated on its borders. The indians of
these villages rarely use the land roads in going from town to town,
commonly journeying by canoes, of a somewhat peculiar type. These are
"dug outs," made from single tree trunks, and range in size from those
intended for a single hunter to those which will carry ten or twelve
persons. At the stern they are cut almost squarely across; at the bow
they are trimmed to a slope; they are flat-bottomed and considerably
wider at the bottom than above; they are dug out in such fashion that
the walls are thin and almost vertical on the inner side. Buttressing
pieces are left at the bottom, at two or three places, extending across
the canoe and no doubt strengthening the sides; they also serve as
squatting places for the passengers. The prow narrows as well as slopes
upward, and a buttressing piece left in it serves as a foot-rest for the
steersman, who sits in the bow, instead of in the stern. He steers by
means of a long-handled paddle thrust through a loop of wood fastened
to one side of the canoe. The paddles used for propulsion have handles
three or four feet long, with round blades. The paddlers sometimes make
their stroke on but one side of the canoe, sometimes on both. When they
paddle over one side only, the stroke of the oar through the water is
oblique, maintaining a steady course.
[Illustration: SANTA FE DE LA LAGUNA]
In such canoes the Tarascans of the lake villages go from place to
place; in such a canoe, we started one morning before six o'clock, for
Santa Fe de la Laguna. Our force consisted of three persons, an old man
named Felipe, his wife, and a young man. All three had paddles, but only
two really paddled, the third one steering. The sun rose shortly after
we started, and the light effects of early morning on the water and
surrounding mountains were fine. Though we had made an early start, many
had started earlier, and in the first part of our journey we met scores
of canoes, the paddlers of which were on their way to Patzcuaro. It
was a beautiful sight to see six or eight paddlers in some great canoe
keeping exact time in their movements, singing as they went. Sometimes
two canoes were raced, and laughter and excited cries accompanied
the contest. Here and there along the shores we saw little huts of
fishermen, with nets hung out to dry, or groups of men seining or
dropping dip-nets; upon many slopes were little terrace garden spots,
where modest crops were cultivated; here and there were mats lately
finished or heaps of fresh-cut rushes for their fabrication. Five hours
of good paddling brought us to Santa Fe de la Laguna, just opposite the
far more famous Tzintzuntzan, and but a little distance from the much
larger town, Quiroga. Santa Fe is quite a town, stretching for a
considerable distance along a terrace, but little elevated above the
water level. The houses are built of rather large, dark-brown, adobe
bricks; the walls are usually white plastered; the roofs of all the
houses are tiled, and the supporting rafters of the roof extend out far
beyond the front wall of the house, so that the passer on the footpath
is sheltered against rain and the noonday sun. The outer ends of these
rafters are cut to give an ornamental effect. All the houses are
surrounded by fruit trees--orange, lemon, lime, _ahuacate_ and
_chirimoya_. Each little property is surrounded by a stone wall of some
height; the gate-way through this, giving entrance to the yard, is
surmounted by a pretty little double-pitched roofing of thatch.
A crowd of pure indians had gathered at the landing, by the time we were
unloaded. Forty or fifty men and women of medium stature, dark-brown
skin and broad, expressionless faces, watched our every movement with
curiosity, but none was ready to assist us in carrying our luggage to
the _curato_. Taking it ourselves, as best we could, we found a boy to
direct us and made our way to the house. The _cura_, had gone to Quiroga
and his suspicious household would not receive us until his return,
although permitting us to leave our goods. Going to the _plaza_, we
succeeded in getting bread and cheese at a _tienda_, and after eating
loitered until, at half-past-two, the Padre Ponce made his appearance.
We showed him our letters and asked his interest and aid. He at
once made us at home in his house, summoned the officials, read the
governor's letter aloud to them, and told them it was their duty to
assist us in every way. We at once began our work, and before nightfall
had measured and photographed a number of cases.
The next morning, Saturday, all started merrily. After breakfast,
however, Padre Ponce left us, going to Quiroga for celebrating
Christmas. The moment he was gone, work slackened, and it was with
difficulty that we could procure subjects. Early the next morning the
_padre_ appeared to say mass, after which he stirred up the people and
we were again at work. But as soon as he left for Quiroga, once more,
the interest diminished. Finally, as no one came and the officials had
disappeared, we started out upon a tour of investigation. We found the
whole town drunk; the _juez_, the chief of police, the _mayores_, all
were too drunk for measurement. We experimented upon two or three
subjects, but soon gave up in despair.
[Illustration: LOS VIEJOS; SANTA FE DE LA LAGUNA]
Padre Ponce need not have gone to Quiroga for Christmas celebrations; we
had them also. For example, we had _Los Viejos_. One afternoon, we saw a
band of half-a-dozen persons singing in the street. All but one of them
were men or boys dressed in long robes of brilliant red, purple or
green, which were buttoned down the front; their heads were covered with
white cloth, over which were fitted little masks of clay. The last one
in the company was a woman, dressed quite in the usual fashion, but
barefoot and with her _rebozo_ covering her face and a man's _sombrero_
on her head. Two of the party had guitars of local manufacture. This
company strolled through the streets, singing and dancing; some of the
dancing was clog-dance, some the _jarabe_, a man and woman taking part.
Having noticed this group, we saw that the whole town seemed in movement
toward the _corral_ connected with the shrine behind the church.
Following with the crowd, we found the _corral_ already filled with
people. The men were seated on benches or squatting against the walls;
women and children were sitting on the ground. We noticed that all the
women brought burdens, which proved to be pots full of hot _atole_,
bundles of large _tortillas_, trays heaped high with _tamales_, or sacks
full of little cups. Various bands of dancers made their way around,
delighting the crowd with their performances. The group we had already
seen was the least interesting. Those that really represented _los
viejos_ (the old men) were the best. These wore large, comic, wooden
masks, many of which showed signs of long-continued use; one represented
a long, warty, bearded face and was painted purple; others were painted
red or brown, but most of them were of the natural color of the wood;
great wigs of corn-husk or of matting were worn over the back of the
head; the clothing was ragged and dirty, and in some cases was really
of ancient style; some wore roughly made garments of the skin of the
_tigre_. Each band had its leader, and each tried to outdo the others in
the oddity of performance, vigor of dancing and coarseness of jest. Much
fun and laughter were caused by their antics. Meantime, boys and young
women were busied as waiters. Cups of steaming _atole_, delicious
_tortillas_, hot _tamales_ were distributed until everyone, including
the strangers, were supplied. No one ate until the whole company had
been served, when the town officials set the example and all fell to
feasting. Dancing, music, laughter and fun followed, and were kept up
until some time after nightfall.
On the second day after Christmas a strolling band of _pastores_, from
San Geronimo, passed from house to house singing their Christmas songs.
The company consisted of two or three musicians, a carrier--who was an
indian boy about fifteen years old--and half a dozen other youngsters,
wearing new palm hats and carrying long staves ending above in a loop
from which streamed strips of brilliantly colored tissue paper. The
carrier bore a cushion, upon which was stretched a figure of the infant
Christ. At each house, he passed before the spectators, allowing them
to kiss the figure and to deposit gifts of flowers or of money for the
little church at San Geronimo; the music then struck up, the leader
began to sing, and the little shepherds (_pastores_) marched around and
around singing in chorus.
We lost quite two days on account of the drunkenness of the town. When
it was past, by a vigorous indulgence in wheedling and threatening,
we got the work again under way, and were just finishing with our
one-hundredth man, when Padre Ponce returned for good and all. We had
nearly starved during his absence; his old housekeeper had done her best
with the poor materials which we were able to secure, but the best was
bad. With Padre Ponce came another priest, Padre Torres of Patzcuaro,
who used to be located at Santa Fe and was much loved by the natives.
With the assistance of the two Padres we were able to secure and deal
with our female subjects in less than a day, and were ready to bid adieu
to the _padrecitos_ and leave for Tzintzuntzan.
[Illustration: CHURCHYARD AND BELLS; TZINTZUNTZAN]
[Illustration: VIEW AT JANICHO; LAKE PATZCUARO]
All the tourist world that goes to Patzcuaro visits Tzintzuntzan to see
the Titian. Padre Ponce was anxious to have us see the famous picture
and photograph it. It was late when we reached the town, which consists
in large part of _mestizos_ and indians who speak little but native
Tarascan. We found the _cura_ was not in town, but were taken to the
_curato_; arrived there, we discovered that the good man had taken his
keys with him. We arranged, with some difficulty, for something to eat,
and, after supper, were shown into an open room, with an unfinished
roof, without a door, and with no hint of bed. Here we shared a lumber
pile with two or three young men and suffered frightfully from cold all
night. We were up early, as sleep was impossible, and filled our time as
best we could, until it was light enough to photograph the picture.
We had our letter from Padre Ponce to the _cura_, in which he
recommended the priest to have us photograph the painting. This letter
and the governor's letter we had shown the town officials the night
before, telling them that we should make the picture. They replied that
they could not give permission to do so during the _padre's_ absence.
After we had breakfasted, and the light had become sufficient, we made
our way to the old church, in front of which are some beautifully
gnarled and irregular ancient olive trees, amid which the old bells are
quaintly hung. Entering the church, we soon found the Titian, a descent
from the cross. The figures are boldly painted and skillfully grouped;
the action and lighting concentrate upon the figure of the Christ. Padre
Ponce had told us that the proper place from which to photograph was the
pulpit, and he was right. The sacristan was looking on with doubt: when
he saw us making preparations for the picture, he hurried to us and said
it was against all rule for anyone to take a photograph when the _cura_
was not present. We told him our time was short; that we must return
to Patzcuaro that day to arrange our farther journey; we showed the
governor's order and Padre Ponce's letter, but all in vain. We must wait
until the _cura_ came. With this I put some _centavos_ in his hand and
told him I was certain his duties called him outside the church and that
we would not detain him; that we should stay awhile to gaze upon
the picture, which deserved close and pious examination. He at once
withdrew, locking the door behind him. The instrument was quickly placed
in the pulpit and the picture taken. Curiously, the sacristal duties
ended just as we were ready to leave the church and the door opened as
if we had said "Open sesame."
By ten-thirty we had secured a canoe and boatmen, two young and vigorous
pure-blood indians. Though a wind was blowing squarely against us,
we made good time. We stopped at the picturesque fishing-village of
Janicho, on its rock island. Its houses cluster on a little terrace near
the bottom of the hill, which rises behind it as a fine background.
Steps of rock lead up the stony slope from the water's edge to the
houses. In every yard mattings are laid, upon which little white fish
are drying. As they walk through the streets or stand talking together,
the men are ever tatting at nets; long lines of net-cord are reeled out
for many yards along the wayside; hundreds of feet of seines are hung
out in the sun to dry. The houses, with their pretty red tiling, are
irregularly clustered along narrow winding streets. The people are
purely indian, and wear the characteristic dress.
[Illustration: TARASCAN FISHERMEN; JANICHO]
No town in all the region makes so much use of the _tsupakua_, or
spear-thrower, a wooden stick cut to fit the hand and support the shaft
of a spear or long dart, the end of which rests against a peg near the
tip of the thrower. By means of this instrument, the long, light, darts
of cane with iron points are thrown more directly and forcibly than by
the hand alone. These spears are used in hunting ducks. Anciently a
spear-throwing stick was widely used through Mexico; to-day it lingers
in few places, the best known of which is here on Lake Patzcuaro.