ftM^Atf^e^^t**^*?^' JiliiHdL:^^ * hi ' LlT^'M ■ 1 -I mimKm0»mmmmmmmmmmmimimKmm >TV|^T^« i^T **j*'r*l*'I'*I*'l"l*f*l' *1*|* *1 «immm H BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Menvu ^- Sage 1891 A'li'^ipi , lymi'^dh. Cornell University Library GR 115.S79 Catalogue of a collection of oj'iects ill 3 1924 006 488 088 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924006488088 sni^ (^0ife-Scti^ ^uk% FOE COLLECTING AND FEINTING- RELICS OF POPULAR ANTIQUITIES, &c., ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR MDCCCLXXVIII. Alter flt Idem. PUBLICATIONS OP THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY. XLIII. [1898.] The Folk'Lorc Society. (1899.) jlwsiJieiit. E. S. HARTLAND, F.S.A. THE HON. JOHN ABERCROMBY. MISS C. S. BURNE. EDWARD CLODD. G. LAURENCE GOMME, F.S.A. ANDREW LANG. M.A., LL.D. THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN LUBBOCK, BART., M.P., D.C.L , LL.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.L.S. ALFRED NUTT. Lt.-Gen. RITT-RIVERS, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.R.G.S. PROFESSOR F. YORK POWELL, M.A., F.S.A. PROFESSOR J. RHYS, M.A., LL.D., F.S.A. THE REV. PROFESSOR A. H. SAYCE, M.A., LL.D., D.D. PROFESSOR EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL.D., D.C.L. , F.R.S. fflminctl. C. J. BILLSON, M.A. DR. KARL BLIND. H. C. BOWEN, M.A. F. C. CONYBEARE, M.A. J. E. CROMBIB. W. CROOKE, B.A. LELAND L. DUNCAN, F.S.A. J. P. EMSLIE. T. GOWLAND. MISS F. GROVE. PROF. A. C. HADDON, M.A., D.Sc. T. W. E. HIGGENS. JOSEPH JACOBS, B.A. F. B. JEVONS, M.A., Litt.D. PROF. W. P. KER, M.A. A. F. MAJOR. T. FAIRMAN ORUISH, F.S.A. W. H. D. ROUSE, M.A. HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A. A. R. WRIGHT. E. W. BRABROOK, C.B., F.S.A., 178, Bedford Hill, Balham, S.W. J^ait. auSttor. F. G. GREEN. Secixtars. F. A. MILNE, M.A., 11, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, London, W.C. Stairtins Committees: PDBLIO.ATIONS COMMITTEE. THE PRESIDENT (Chairman) ; G. L. GOMME (Viee-Chairman) ; E. K. CHAMBERS ; MISS M. ROALFE COX; W. CROOKE; PROFESSOR W P. KER ; A. NUTT. BIBLIOGKAPHY COMMITTEE. G. L. GOMME (Chairman) ; L. L. DUNCAN ; J. JACOBS ; W. F. KIRBY : J. T. NAAKB. MUSEUM COMMITTEE. G. L. GOMME (Chairman); J. P. EMSLIE; ARTHUR J. EVANS; T. GOWLAND; MISS M. C. FFENNELL ; A. R. AVRIGHT. The President and Treasurer are ex-uffioin memhers of all Committees. CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF OBJECTS ILLUSTRATING THE FOLKLORE OF MEXICO. CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF OBJECTS ILLUSTRATING THE FOLKLORE OF MEXICO. BY FREDERICK STARR, PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY JN THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. WITH THIETT-TWO FI&URES. LONDON : PUBLISHED FOR THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY BY DAVID NUTT, 270-271, STRAND. 1899. PRINTED BT J. ±>. NICHOLS AND SONS, PAKLIAMiNT MANSIONS, yiOTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER. INTRODUCTION. The Collection of Objects described in the following pages is a gift by Professor Starr to the Folk-Lore Society. It is due to him, as well as of interest to the Members of the Society, to state shortly how it was this gift came to be made, and upon what conditions. Being at Chicago in the latter days of August, 1897, I took the opportunity of calling on Pro- fessor Starr, with whom I had already had some correspond- ence on anthropological matters, and whose personal acquaint- ance I was anxious to make. He received me with great kindness; and in the course of the interview I learned that he was making a special study of the anthropology of Mexico ; and he showed me many interesting things which he had brought back from his travels in that country. I was especially attracted by a series of pottery figures (Tastoanes) representing the characters in a passion play performed in one of the country districts of Mexico, and a series of masks, also in pottery, worn by the actors. As I listened there came upon me the wish to secure a set of the figures for the Folk- Lore Society ; and I inquired whether it would not be possible to do so. Professor Starr readily and kindly undertook to procure a set for me. After my return home, however, I received a letter from him, intimating that he had changed his mind, and offering instead to make at his own expense, and present to the Society, a Collection of Objects illustrating the Folklore of Mexico, subject to three conditions : — 1. That the Collection should be kept as a Mexican Collec- tion, with the donor's name attached. vm INTRODUCTION. 2. That the Society should print an Illustrated Catalogue which he would prepare and pass through the press. 3. That the objects should be displayed at a meeting of the Society, which he would attend, and when he would describe and explain some of the more important items. This letter I forwarded without loss of time to Mr. Alfred Nutt, then President of the Society, who took the matter up warmly. A Council Meeting was called, and Professor Starr's generous offer was gratefully accepted. The Collection arrived in London last winter ; and in June the donor him- self came over and unpacked the boxes. A joint meeting of the Folk-Lore Society and of the Anthropological Institute was held, by the kindness of the Institute, at its rooms, on the 27th June, at which Professor Starr exhibited and explained the Collection. It would be out of place to attempt here a formal apprecia- tion of either the Collection or the Catalogue. Their value will be obvious on the most cursory glance at the pages which follow. As a sample, however, of the minuteness of Professor Starr's ethnological observations, I would draw attention to the section on Children's Outdoor Games, occupying upwards of 33 pages of the Catalogue — a section of course unrepresented by anything in the Collection. The scientific interest and importance of Children's Games have hardly as yet been adequately recognised. But anthropologists who, like Pro- fessor Starr, have had the opportunity of studying the games of savage children on the spot, are awake to the lessons that may be learnt from them. The account of the games of Mexican-Spanish children given here may be compared with those of British and American children's games by Mrs. Gomme and Mr. Newell, and with that of Sicilian children's games by Dr. Pitre in the thirteenth volume of his great Biblioteca INTRODUCTION. IX delle Tradizioni Popolari Siciliane. Dr. Feilberg's study of the game of Hopscotch as played in Denmark {Folklore, vol. vi., p. 359) will also form an admirable commentary on the analogous games reported and illustrated by diagrams in this volume. The formal thanks of the Folk-Lore Society have already been tendered to Professor Starr. But the Society desires further to place on record here its keen sense of gratitude for his generosity, and to express the hope that the Collection in its permanent place of deposit (the University Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Cambridge) and this Catalogue may realise the intentions of the donor, by the facilities they will aiford, especially to British and American students of anthropology, for studying the traditions of the Mexican- Spanish population of the ancient empire of the Aztecs. E. SIDNEY HARTLAND. HiGHGARTH, GLOUCESTER, October, 1899. PREFACE. This little book is simply a descriptive and illustrated cata- logue of a collection of objects — not a treatise on Mexican Folklore. Once only has the writer gone beyond his field the subject of Children's Games is more fully treated than necessary. In securing children's toys on the one hand and board games on the other, considerable material was gathered regarding outdoor and indoor games, which it seemed a pity not to preserve. Hence it has been printed here, although admittedly incomplete. The collection here described is not a collection of ethnographic objects : the pure-blood Indians, who form the population of Southern Mexico, are not represented in it. Objects illustrating their life and customs are hardly folklore objects. The six hundred and thirty or more objects here gathered together represent the Mestizos, or mixed bloods of Northern and Central Mexico. Their blood is a mixture of Spanish and Indian : their life is a mixture of that of South Europe in the fifteenth and of America at the end of the nineteenth centuries: their religion is a mixture of native paganism and imported Christianity. Nowhere is there a more interesting field for the folklorist. Here are dialect developments; here are proverbs, witty and wise; here are folksongs, sweet and touching ; here are folk-tales untouched by skepticism ; here are charms and fox-mulae ; here are Xll PREFACE. witches and fairies in the full height of their power ; here are popular street celebrations and dramas ; here are a hundred Oberammergaus with passion-plays and miracle-plays unspoiled by the crowds of visitors ; here are a thousand strange sur- vivals of pagan barbarism in the midst of Christian civilization. One error, often made, must be avoided. Mexico is fre- quently thought of as backward and barbaric. Mexico has a common " folk " and much " folklore " We deal with the lore of the common Mestizo folk. But, on one side of it is the Indian, and on the other side of it is the enlightened and progressive Mexican, who has made Mexico what it is to-day — a great and prosperous, progressive and rapidly advancing nation. The men who Tnalce Mexico to-day are the peers of any in our own lands. They are men of thought and action. Modern Mexico has its poets and prose writers, its historians and dramatists, its artists and musicians, its financiers and statesmen. Men like Icazbalceta and Orozco y Berra, Roa Barcena and Altamirano, Limantour and Diaz, and the mighty Juarez do not lose by comparison with the great of other lands. I should be sorry if either Collection or Catalogue gave a false impression regarding this most deserving land and people. Much here described is perhaps only Catholic, and might equally well have come from any Catholic land. Still even this has probably received a local impress or retains an ancient quaintness. We have made no etibrt to sift or sort. Here is the material, if others care to analyze and compare. To all the many who have aided us in securing objects and data we give thanks. Especial thanks, however, are due to David A. Wilson of Guadalajara, William D. Powell of Toluca, Miss Butler of the City of Mexico, and Miss McCormick and Miss Harriman of Morelia. FREDERICK STARR. Xlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Local Industries 1 Shop Signs and Names ... 13 Street Cries 15 Popular Amusements 18 Games of Skill for Adults ... 23 Children's Toys and Games 24 Popular Celebrations ... 76 Charms and Amulets 99 Witchcraft 102 Popular Divination ... 104 Popular Medicine 106 Examples of Conservatism 108 Votive Offerings Ill Eeligious Miscellany 118 Pamphlets and Papers 132 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Wg. Facing Page 1. "Wall Display of Kitchen Pottery : Silao (No. 27) ... 6 2. Puppets, Zacatecas (No. 82) 22 3. Nagual: Guadalajara (Nos. 144-148) 29 4. Nagual : Guadalajara (Nos. 144-148) 29 5. Nagual and Muerto : Guadalajara (No. 149) 30 6. Nagual and Muerto : Guadalajara (No. 149) 30 7. Cascaron : City of Mexico (No. 240) 78 8. Cascarones : Puebla (Nos. 243-245) 78 9. Cascarones : City of Mexico (Nos. 247-249) 78 10. Seller of Matracas : City of Mexico (Nos. 256-272) 81 11. SellerofJudases: City of Mexico (Nos. 273-280) 82 12. Masks of Tastoanes : Guadalajara (Nos. 281-291) 83 13. Masks of Tastoanes : Guadalajara (Nos. 281-291) 83 14. Tastoanes, Pottery Figures (Nos. 299-300) 84 1 5. Thin Candy Figure sold at the Feast of the Dead : Toluca (No. 308) 86 16. Thin Candies sold at the Time of the Feast of the Dead ; Toluca (Nos. 315-317) 86 17. Candies sold at the time of the Feast of the Dead : Toluca (Nos. 329; 332, 334, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 343, 344, 345) 87 18. Muertos : Guadalajara (No. 373) 89 19. Muertos : Guadalajara (No. 374) 89 20. Table spread for the Dead : City of Mexico (No. 386) 89 21. Funeral Procession : Morelia CNo. 395) 90 22. Muertos : Morelia (Nos. 416-417) 90 23. Mask of Hermit in the Pasiores ; Guadalajara (No. 421) 91 24. Wax Figure for Nacimiento : Toluca (No. 425) 93 25. Sellers of Pinatas : Silao (No. 442) 97 26. Silver .Efc-TOios, from various localities (Nos. 504-530) Ill 27. Collection of Cilicias and Disciplinas, belonging to Mr. D. A. Wilson, Guadalajara (No. 558) 120 28. Cross to ensure success of Crops : Near Tezontepec (No. 578) ... 123 29. Cake of Earth : Lagos (No. 579) 123 30. Cake of Earth : Lagos (No. 580) 12,S 31. Palm blessed on Palm Sunday : Guadalajara (No. 584) 124 32. Pebble-Shrine, near Guadalupe (No. 606) 130 CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF OBJECTS ILLUSTRATING THE FOLKLORE OF MEXICO. LOCAL INDUSTRIES. In Mexico local industries and local arts are most strikingly developed. In some districts every town almost has some speciality. Thus, along the line of the Mexican Central Railway, Aguas Calientes is famous for its drawn-work and its horsehair toys ; Irapuato is the strawberry station, with fresh berries every day of the year ; Celaya is renowned for its dulces, chiefly condensed milk with almond flavouring ; Salamanca is synonymous with gloves. Where an art or industry is widely developed, the product is locally different. Thus, in pottery — the true art of arts in Mexico — at Guadalupe, pressed vessels in black-glazed ware, present the forms of man, fish, and fowl ; Cuauhtitlan gives a common, black and brown mottled ware in graceful pitcher and vase forms ; Oaxaca has a dark green-glaze ware, in simple but varied forms ; at Encarnacion canteens and pitchers of a fine-grained dull-red ware, bear low, stamped, intaglio decora- tion ; San Felipe turns out " lustred ware," &e. Even in modes of work such local diversity exists. A missionary at Aguas Calientes, building a schoolhouse, had workmen from the 2 TOYS OF HORSE-HAIR locality and others from a neighbouring town. The two parties had to be kept at work on different walls, as they did their work in different manners, and each considered the other's method inferior. Water-carriers in different cities have characteristic water-jars, differing in form, size, and mode of carrying. The first specimens in the collection illustrate this local diversity. The evidence of archaeology goes to show that analogous notable local differences marked the pre-Conquest Mexican life. TOYS OF HORSE-HAIR: These little objects are made chiefly at Aguas Calientes, though recently (to supply tourist demands) Silao and Irapuato have become centres of manufacture. The hairs are dyed and woven into shapes, the commonest of which are little hats fsombreritosj and small baskets fcanastitasj of various patterns. 1. Horse-Hair Toy: sombrerito. Aguas Calientes. 2. ,, ,, ,, 3. ,, canastita „ 4. ,, „ different ,, DRAWN-WORK (Gostura) : Mexican drawn-work is now well known everywhere quantities being sent yearly to the United States and other countries. It is a domestic industry, the work being done in the little houses of the poor. Women are the workers. The art is taught in some of the public schools as a means of livelihood. Linen, silk, and cotton are the chief materials. An introduced art, it has had a notable development in its new home, and many of the patterns are original to Mexico. The patterns of the centre and the outer band differ, and each has its own name. In the following list the outer pattern is DRAWN-WORK 3 first named, then the inner and then translated. 5. Drawn-Work The names are given in Spanish The devil: the JEl Diablo : las rrnces crosses. Los dominos •" ojos de San Pedro. The dominos : eyes of St. Peter. Hdllame si puedes : las marias. Find me if you can : the Marias. Los Jesusitos : los cruzados. The little Jesuse.s : crossed. La Piiia : ojo de viosco. The pineapple : fly's eye. Rueda de cache : lomillo con ovalitos. Cart- wheel : hemming with little ovals. Las margaritas : la lagrima. The pearls ; the tear. Lnssoles: ojo depollo. Suns : chicken's eye. El relindo : costilla de raton. Neat : rat's rib. Los durasnos : corazon de cidra. The peaches : heart of citron. Los rejillitas : la semilla de inelon. The little lattices : Melon-seed. Los resplandores : la estrella. Brilliants : the star. Some of these names are strikingly appropriate. To call the little figure in the border of 8, Jesusito — the little Jesus — is entirely in keeping with the religious bent of the country. The fly's eyes, chicken's eye, teardrop, rat's rib, melon-seed, are all pat and striking. The heart of the citron is accurate: the pattern strikingly resembles the figure presented by a cross cut of a lemon or orange. It is only fair to say, however, that while it is customary to name patterns, manj^ names vary not only with districts but even with individual workers. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. b2 4 SILVER FIGURES The specimens represent a medium grade of work SILVER FIGURES: The four great silver towns of Mexico are Zacatecas, Guana- juato, Pachuca, and Chihuahua. At Guanajuato, for a long time past, cunning workmen have made little figures of silver. These represent various types, but the commonest are miners. Often miniature landscapes are constructed of bits of spar and ore, representing mining shafts, tunnels, and deposits of " mineral," and the little figures of busy workmen are set in them as if they were at work. The figures made long ago are neater and more artistic than those made to-day, but are rare and bring good prices. 17. Silver figurine: miner. Guanajuato. 18. IRON WITH INLAID SILVER: The beautiful art of inlaying iron with silver is to-day of limited practice in Mexico. Amozoc, in the State of Puebla, is famous for it. The articles commonly made are pieces of harness and smoothing irons. Other articles of many kinds are made to order. Some of the Amozoc work is not true silver inlaying, but cutting of white designs in the blue metal : this etching or engraving resembles the true inlaid work to a careless observer. 19. Buttons with etched designs. Amozoc. 20. Cinch ring with inlaid silver. Amozoc. LUSTRED POTTERY: Among arts introduced by the Spaniards and dating back beyond them to the Saracens is the making of lustred or LUSTRED POTTERY 5 iridescent pottery. The best-known lustred pottery of Mexico is made at San Felipe, in the State of Guanajuato. It is richly lustred, over a very coarse and cheap foundation, in bronzes and metallic greens that change with the angle at which the light falls upon them. Originally the makers manufactured only little vessels in the forms of bowls, cups, and pitchers. Under the demand and direction of dealers in curios they now make larger pieces — bowls, sugar-bowls, plates, pitchers. Native customers rarely buy these but remain loyal to the old types. The makers travel on foot from San Felipe, with great crates of this ware on their backs, to the fairs and markets where they sell. The usual price for such little pieces is about a farthing. Addis described this ware in a paper entitled Mexican Lustred Pottery (Harper's Magazine, Aug., 1869. See No. 620.) 21. Lustred Ware: cup. San Felipe. 22. „ ,, bowl-plate. San Felipe. ^•^- 11 11 II )I 24. ,25. „ „ vase The common Mexican, and especially the common Mexican woman — be she mixed-blood or Indian — is fond of pretty things, and especially fond of pottery. She delights in securing specimens of pretty wares from all parts of the Republic. Her collection is much less for use than for display. She groups her treasures symmetrically and artistically on the kitchen wall. Sometimes scores of pieces from a dozen localities are thus displayed. While these wall displays occur in many places they are especially numerous in the towns and cities of the State of Guanajuato, such as Guana- juato, Leon, and Silao. 6 STRAW PICTURES 26. Kitchen wall display of pottery (photograph). ^7. „ ,, ,, ,, II all at Silao. STRAW PICTURES- The making of landscapes and pictures of national types in colored straws is a local and individual art in the hands of a few Indians in Puebla and the City of Mexico. The straws are stained, cut and laid in position to form designs, usually somewhat stiff and awkward, but in the best specimens quite artistic. The specimens sent are of the cheaper and com- moner grade. 29. Straw picture: a(/Marfor or water-seller. City of Mexico. 30. Straw picture : tlachiquero or agua miel collector. City of Mexico. The chief intoxicant of Mexico is pulque, the fermented sap of the agave or maguey. The plant grows for about twelve years without flowering. It then produces a central flower-bud at the base of the leaves. This is cut out, leaving a large, carefully-shaped cup. Into this cup the sap pours, and from it, it is collected by means of a long and slender gourd. The smaller end of this is inserted into the cup, and the air is sucked out at the larger end, by the man - The sap or agua miel rises in the gourd and is transferred to the goat-skin* bottle which the tlachiquero carries on his back. The tall straight plants represented in line behind the man are the organo cactus, much used for fences or hedges in Middle and Southern Mexico. * Not a piiiskin, tliouyli nfleii sn statuil by carek'ss tniveilersi. ^^^ Y^*^^ ^1*%*- I FiG,1.-WALL DISPLAY OF KITCHEN POTTERY: SILAO. (No, 27) [Tc /'rt(V' /'«'/(" 6. HAG BlGURES 7 RAG FIGURES : The rag figures made by Indians in the City of Mexico have been famous for many years. Brautz Mayer says :* " Until recently there were in the City of Puebla two sisters remarkable for the manufactare oi figures from rags. These ladies were of respectable birth, and always commanded a ready sale for their works, which were sought for even in Europe, They moalded the figures of lumps of beeswax, covered the different parts of the body with cotton-cloth of colours suited to the com- plexion, and while the wax was yet soft moulded the features into the required exjaression, completing the representation with appropriate dresses. I have two of these in my possession, which, in point of character, are worthy of the pencil of Teniers. They represent an old Indian woman, scolding and weeping over her drunken son. The grief and age of the one and the tipsy leer, roll of the head, and want of command over the limbs of the other are rendered with indescribable faithfulness." Such figures are still made, and represent the common types of the streets of Mexico. 31. Rag figure : Aguador or water-cariier. City of Mexico. 32. ,, Oar&owero or charcoal-seller. ,, POTTERY FIGURES : The pottery ware of Guadalajara is the most famous in the Republic. It is sold at every public market, and many thousand pieces go annually to foreign lands. But pitchers, goblets, cups, saucers, plates, bovrls, etc., are not the only forms into which it is made. As wax and rags at other towns so pottery here is made into figures representing types of every class. These are made by pure Indians, who have had no » '■ Mexico as it Was and Is," p. 84. 8 POTTERY FIGURES instruction ; and they are strikingly lifelike. The most famous makers are named Panduro, a father and two sons ; but there are several others who are nearly or quite as good. There are all grades of work. The best are unpainted figures, in careful detail, standing about 8 or 10 inches high. The originals are made with the moist clay, the only tools being the fingers and little sticks. After a satisfactory design has been made, it is used as a pattern, a mould is made and copies are pressed in this. The Panduros are quick to catch a like- ness, and make many portraits, for tourists, from life. 33. Pottery figure, of good grade : unpainted. Cake-dealer carrying his wares in a tray upon his head. 34. Pottery figure, of good grade : painted. Labourer -witli load of bricks. For other examples of this better grade of pottery figures see Nos. 292-.300, representing Tastoanes. 35-46. Smaller pottery figures of medium grade. An orchestra of eleven pieces and leader. The painting of these is un- usually good for cheap work : the medium used is mulberry juice, which is said to be permanent. For other examples of this grade and workmanship, see Nos. 66-73 representing bull-fighters. For a still commoner grade of work see in Children's Toys, Nos. 128-130. MINIATURE FIGURES IN POTTERY: At a few places extremely small figures in clay are made. They usually represent types of common life, and are often mounted in small groups. They are not pressed in moulds but are hand-formed. A bit of clay taken in the fingers is roughly shaped, after which the finishing is done with a little pointed tool of bone. They are mounted on wire and then baked in a gas jet. The colors are then applied. These little figures not more than an inch in height present a mar- vellous amount of detail. They may be mounted in groups POTTERY FIGURES 9 upon simple tablets of wood, or on little supports set against a backing of onyx, or in a nutshell — favorites being the Madeira nut and a small cocoanut. When mounted in groups these usually represent some scene in common daily life. The seven groups in the collection were made in Puebla. 47. Scene at Santa Anita : The Indian village of Santa Anita, just outside the City of Mexico, is famous as a place of gaiety for common people and for its chinampas or floating gardens. These are little rectangular patches of fertile soil, separated from one another by narrow canals all of which ultimately communicate with a large canal called the Vega. Over this waterway there daily pass hundreds of canoes loaded with vegetables for the city market. The houses are light constructions of cane with thatched roofs. The business part of the town consists of a few drinking places — shops of ordinary Mexican construction facing or near to the Vega. The group shows two canoes on the water, a musician playing a guitar to whose music a couple are dancing the jarabe, another musician seated, a couple making love and a woman with an intoxicated lover. 48. An Indian Wedding : This is a favorite subject with group-makers. It is also a frequent dramatic subject for celebration among the common onestizo population, who seem to think it most comical. While varying from tribe to tribe, the following condensed from the account given by the school teacher at Cuauhtlantzinco, Puebla, where the current speech is Aztec, will convey some idea of the performance. The town Jiscales, with their official staves in their hands, go to the house of the bride-to-be, gain the consent of the parents to the marriage, and then formally inform the priest. The following Sunday, the same officials 10 I'orTERV FlGURfiS conduct the young couple to confession and communion, and on Monday to the marriage service. The godparents give the bride enaguas and a rebozo. The enaguas (dresses) cost about a peso a yard and are some ten yards long : the needle work upon them costs some three or four pesos. The rebozo (head shawl) costs three or four pesos. The young couple wear crowns of natural flowers : these crowns are called clavelcs and are high, and the flowers com- posing them are massed closely. After the marriage ceremony, the authorities of the town are invited to the house of the bride : the guests also gather there. A breakfast is served, consisting of pork tamales and bread. After eating, all adjourn to the house of the bride's godfather for dinner. This consists of inole of turkey, cigarettes, liquor and pulque. After eating, all go to the house of the bridegroom for a second dinner. Before eating this the young couple kneel before an altar : the parents and relatives, with the town fisralcs at their head, stand by. The fiscales, giving their staves to the young couple, exhort them to live properly, to observe their matrimonial obligations, etc During the dinner which follows there is music on stringed instruments. The whole company now i-eturns to the bride's home. The groom's parents fill a great basket with food — a whole turkey, half a pig, a vessel of mole, many tamales, etc. A man carry- ing this upon his head leads the way, while the rest follow with music, song, and dancing. Arrived at the house the basket and its contents are presented to the parents of the bride, and dancing begins. A woman standing near with a basket of flowers throws liandsfull of these over the dancers. When these flowers are all gone, bunches of grass (brooms) are given to the participants. The dancing continues for two or three hours, when the party returns to the house of the bride- POTTERY FIGURES II groom. As she leaves her home for ever, the young bride receives a parental blessing amid the tears and sobs of the bystanders. Her people then load two or three great baskets with the girl's property— dress, pottery, griddle, metate, etc. These are ostentatiously carried at the head of the company to the house of the groom, where they are set down as sym- bolical of the woman taking possession of her new home. Dancing is then resumed and kept up until dawn. If the girl's godfather chooses, he gives a dance on the Sunday after the wedding. This is the formal close of the celebration. 49. Scene in school : The details of blackboard, benches, study-desks, teacher's table and boy in disgrace are all quite true to life as seen in an ordinary village-school. 50. Cock-fight. 51. Bull-fight: The moment represented is when the bull has thrown a horse upward, dismounting a picador, who is falling. Two capadores with their bright capas and an attendant are trying to distract the attention of the bull in order to save theii- companion. 52. Ranch life: The mayordomo is at the door : two caballeros pass, two donkeys — " burros " — carry loads, and a cargador has a pack on his back. A musician thrumming a guitar and a woman grinding meal on a metate are the other most important personages. 53. Nacimiento : Nativity (See Nos. 425-432). The composition is extremely simple. A stable is rudely represented, over the open front arch of which hovers an angel. 12 POTTERY FIGURES On a slab presumably representing a manger lies a naked babe. At the head and foot kneel San Jose and Maria. A cow and a donkey rest in the stable. The little groups arranged in nutshells are also from Puebla. Great skill and patience are shown in some of these. 54. Group of figures in a half shell of a Madeira nut: Two men with, fighting cocks ai's represented. 55. Figure in a half shell of a Madeira nut: A tlachiquero 01' pulque-gatherer. The agave plant, the gourd for gathering the sap (acocote), the skin-bottle for storing it are all perfectly detailed, as is the dress of the man — that usual to the Indian peasant class. 56. Man with fighting cock in hands : placed in half of a hazel nut or filbert shell. 57. Scene on the Viga Canal. Woman paddling in canoe full of vegetables to market. In hazel nut or filbert shell 58. A blind man walking. Enclosed in a half shell of a pifion nut. The pifion is the seed of a species of pine. It is very sweet and a great favourite in Mexico. This is less than half the size of a hazel nut or filbert, and is the smallest nut generally used for such figures or groups. SHOP SIGNS 13 SHOP SIGNS AND NAMES. There is but little in the way of characteristic shop signs in Mexico. Red flags are hung out at butchers' shops, when freshly-killed meat has been received. Pulque shops are frequently distinguished in some way when fresh pulque has been received. The common method is to garland the doorway with reeds, and to hang a fringe of reeds across the upper part of the entrance. Pulque shops are often decorated with bright paintings, which may cover the whole front. These pictures represent drinking scenes, boating parties, rural festivals, and the like. Such painted fronts are common at Puebla, where also a special sign is hung out to indicate that fresh pulque has arrived. This sign consists of a round sieve covered with brilliant glazed or gilt paper, from which hangs a great mass of colored tissue paper strips : in the bottom of this sieve is pasted a picture of some pretty girl. This sign is hung out over the middle of the door-frame. Cholula, a town famous for its ancient pyramid, though but eight miles from Puebla, does not use such sieve signs. At the pulquerias there, fresh pulque is indicated by flags of red stufl", usually embroidered about the edges and hung from neat poles, which are tipped with gilt or silvered balls or ornaments. 59. Sign for fresh pulque: Puebla (photograph). oU. ,, ,, ,, ,, 61. „ „ Cholula: „ While distinctive shop signs are rare in Mexico, the names given to shops are curious and interesting. These are some- times wonderfully appropriate, sometimes grotesquely sug- gestive. A few examples will illustrate them. 14 SHOP SIGNS Shoe-shop at Leon : El pie de Venus — the foot of Vemis. Pulqiierias : Puebla : Til rey que rabio — the mad King. Guadalajara : Las hijas de TUva — the daughters of Eve. The painting represents a family quarrel : an angry- man grasps a bottle in his left hand : with his right he holds off an assailant: his wife stands with hands raised in horror, and the children weep. Al caho caen : They fall all the same. The painting represents a barrel on end, set a foot above the floor. A man is filling a glass at the faucet. El Infiei-niio : the little hell. This was near one of the chief oliurches. The Government compelled it to take an- other name. La reforma de los Estados Unidos : the re- form of the United States. A miser- able little shop in a back street. Las mtmorins del Diablo : the memories of the devil. La cruz verde : the green cross (sign of the Inquisition.) I'aiKidenas : bakeshops : Sagrado Corazon de Jesus : sacred heart of Jesus. Panaderia de la Santissluui Trinidad : Bakery of the most sacred Trinity. El Diluvia and La Torre de Babel : the Deluge, and the Tower of Babel, are drinking shops opposite each other. ia Esmeralda : the emerald, is the famous jewelry of the City of Mexico, while Las fores de la Primavera, the flowers of springtime, is a prominent dry goods house. STREET CRIES 15 STREET CRTES. Street cries are numerous, characteristic, and curious in the capital city. So far as I know, they have never been carefully studied. It is impossible to enter here upon such a study. An interesting paragraph, published in 1858, may be quoted for preservation of customs of that date (Manual del viajero en -Mejico, pp. 131-133. Marcos Arroniz : Paris, 1858. This is, by the way, copied after Madame Calderon de la Barca : see Life in Mexico, pp. 53, 54). " The dawn of day is announced in the streets of Mexico by the sad and monotonous cry of a multitude of carboneros (charcoal- sellers), who stand at the doorways and cry with all the force of their lungs : Carbosiu ! {carbon seiior) ' charcoal sir.' A little later is heard the melancholy voice of the mantequilla (butter) sellers, who without stopping in their march cry Mantequia . . mantequia de a real y dia medio (Butter . . . butter at a real and a half). Ceaina buena ! (good salt beef) is the announcement with which the carnicero (butcher) interrupts him, with a harsh and inharmonious voice : this in turn alternates ^yith the fastidious and prolonged cry of the sebera or woman who buys tallow from the kitchens, who placing a hand over her left cheek, shrieks into each doorway : Say sebooooooo : (Is there tall-o-o-o-w P) Hardly has she disappeared, when the cambista enters, an Indian woman who exchanges one effect for another, and cries in a lower key and without prolongation of syllables : Tejocotes por venas de chile ! . . tequesquite por pan duro (Tejocotes for veins of chili . . washing soda for hard bread). Tejocotes are sm.all yellow frtiits: veins of chili are the insides of red peppers. With this a buhonero, or perambulating dealer in notions, arrives, who having entered the patio cries out his long list of wares, in a penetrating voice, while he seeks the ladies with his eyes : Agiijas, aljileres, dedales, tejeras, boloni's de cmnina, boJitas de hilo ? But he is rivalled almost before 16 STREET CEIES his ectoes have died away by the frutero (fruit- dealer), who in thunder tones names over his wares. Meantime at the corner a woman sings this little lay : Gorditas de homo calientes, mi alma I • . . Gorditas de hoimo .' (Corncakes hot from the oven, my love ! . . . Corncakes from the oven!). The makers of mats ov p states of Puebla appear to have no other market than Mexico to dispose of them : thus they all scatter themselves through the streets and cry out in a uniform manner : Petates de la Pueeeebla ! . . . jabon de la Pueeeebla: (Mats of Puebla . . . soap of Puebla). In com- petition with these, those who sell the rush goods made at Hochi- milco cry out in turn in rasping voices : Petates de cinco vaaaras ! Petates de dmediay tlaco (Mats of five yards length ! mats at eight pence). Nor is midday free from these troublesome cries : a beggar mumbles blasphemies for a bit of bread ; a blind man recites a miraculous romance for the same object; at the same time the penetrating cry of an Indian woman is heard, which lacerates the ears, announcing : Melcuiiiiii (melcocha) (honey- cake) ; that of the quesero (cheesemonger) who with all the force of his windpipe gives forth : Requeson y melado bueno .' . . . Requeson y queso fresco (curds and good honey . . . curds and fresh cheese) ; and the gentle clamor of the dulcero (vendor of sweets) who after his special nomenclatui'e offers a dos palan- quetas ... a dos condumios . . . caramelos de espelma . . . boca- dilla de coco (two for a cent seed candy cakes . . . two for a cent pea-nut bars . . . fine sugar caramels . . . slices of cocoanut), narrative often interrupted by drunken tremulousness in his voice , or by the shrill cry (according to the age of the individual) of the numerous sellers of lottery tickets who offer for a half real el ultimo billetito que me ha ijuedado para esta tarde (the last little ticket I have left this afternoon) . . . and this ' last ' never is finished. The same cries are common in the afternoon : but that of tortillas de cuajada (curd-tortillas) and the funereal lament of the nevero (ice man) who announces with sepulchral voice, A los canutos nevadas ! (ices in little cylinders) belong especially to this part of the day. In the rainy season, Indians run through the streets at their peculiar STREET CRIES 17 dog-trot, crying : No mercan nilatzilio, witli wliicli cry they announce their sale of jilotes (hot boiled corn) and the nueceras (nutsellers) theirs with the simple : Toman nues ? (will yon have nuts ? ). At night they cease, but others follow ; the chestnut-sellers in winter cry through the streets in a strong well-controlled voice : Gastana asada y cosida : castana asada (chestnuts roasted and boiled ! roasted chestniits). The pateras (duck-selling women) with the pretty song, which they repeat every moment, some remaining at the corners : the juileras (crawfish-sellers) and those who sell tamalitos sernidos (fine flour tamales), and tamalitos queretanos (sweet coffee tamales), mingle their cries with innumeraole others of still other sellers ; an infernal hubbub which gradually diminishes as night advances. But the king of street-cries, the most power- ful because it dominates all, is at noonday • A las bueeenas ca- heezas calieeeeentes de homo! (Good sheep-heads hot from the oven ! ) " 18 BULL-FIGHTS POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. Gambling devices of many kinds are used in Mexico. On fiestas or holidays booths are set up in the public squares, and are filled with persons trying their luck. On the sidewalks of the streets groups of common people crowd around some man who is conducting a simple game in such a way as to encourage the bystander to think that he cannot have bad luck. The whole matter of gambling and card-playing is being investigated by the writer, who for that reason includes no specimens or illustrations of it in the collection. BULL-FIGHTS : There is no necessity of here describing the bull-fight. More than enough accounts of it are readily accessible. A small series of articles will illustrate the things used by the fighters and the popularity of the sport. 62. Rosa: As the bull is let into the ring a short dart is plunged into his shoulder, This is surrounded by a circle of paper and has streamers of coloured tissue-paper attached. It serves two purposes : (a) the pam from its thrust causes the bull to enter the ring with energy and spirit ; (b) the colours and form of the rosa often serve to show from what hacienda or breeding farm the bull comes. Bander illas: After the bull has been excited by the capeadores who wave brightly coloured mantles at him, the signal is given for the banderilleros to appear. These men are supplied with darts, ii'on-barbed on the end, with which the bulls are tor- mented. The aim is for the banderillero to wait about making his thrust until the beast is lunging directly towards him with BULL-FIGHTS 19 his head lowered. Then, at the critical moment he reaches over the lowered horns and tries to thrust one dart deeply into each shoulder of the bull, and instantly leaps to one side to escape destruction. Banderillas are always used in pairs and are gaily decorated with coloured tissue-paper. They serve to infuriate the bull for the final operation of the matador, who uses a slender sword in killing the terrified, wounded, and furious animal. The usual rule is to leave the bull to the torture of the banderilleros until four pairs of the darts have been planted in him. 63. Pair of Banderillas : Toluca. 64. „ „ 65. Pair of Banderillas w^ith powder cracker attachment : used when a bull is found to have little spirit. They are usually cried for by the enraged and disgusted audience. Immediately on being thrust into the animal, these begin to explode, and by terrifying the creature cause it to show signs of increased energy. Figurines of pottery representing bull-fights are favourite designs. The series represents a set of actors in various sorts of bull-fights. It would be rare that the whole series could be seen at any one time or place. All from Guadalajara. 66. Picador: mounted; who wakes up sleepy animals with his long pole, iron-pointed. 67. Capeador: as he enters the ring with capa over shoulder. 67. Capeador : using capa. 68. Banderillero. 69. Matador. 70. Bulls. The above are regular performers and would be seen in every ordinary bull-fight. c2 20 COCK-FIGHTS 71. Clown. 72. Country bull-flght : capeador on horseback. 73. Country bull-fight : fighter rides a bull. The ancient art of feather-picture-making is gone. At Patzcuaro are still two men who make moderate work, over prints, with humming-bird feathers; but the truly artistic independent free work of old Tarascos and Aztecs is past. Coarse, common work over prints is much done in the City of Mexico, chiefly to supply tourists with souvenirs. Favorite designs represent bull-fights and cock-fights. 74. Bull-figlit: feather^work picture. 75. Bull-figlit: featherwork picture. COCK-FIGHTS : are popular in most of the cities of Mexico. It seems as if they were more thoroughly enjoyed by the Indians than by the half-breeds. All classes, however, attend them. Special pits are constructed. Sundays and Mondays are the chief days for fights. 76. Basket in -which cocks are carried to cock-pit. 77-78. Knife-Spurs, attached to the legs of fighting cocks. Of fine steel. They go in pairs, one for each bird. The size to be used is matter of agreement and previous announcement. 79-80-81. Scenes in cock-fight : feather-work pictures. These come nearest to artistic character' of all modern feather- work pieces. PUPPET-SHOWS : are a common amusement. Zacatecas has some celebrity in this direction, but Alejandro Aguirre, who appears to be the chief man in that line at that citv, insists that the PUPPET-SHOWS 21 great artist is Leandro Jose Kossetti Herranda, who lives in San Luis Potosi. Aguirre makes his own puppets, and has some hundred and eighty figures representing different characters. The figures are jointed and made of wood. They will average nearly eighteen inches in height. In make-up and dress considerable attention is given to character -portraiture. The figures range from fine ladies to dancing girls, from drunken newsvendors to priests, matadors, and officials. Threads are attached to the various articles of clothing for the manipula- tion of the figures. These are gathered together at the top into a mass which is wound about a cross of wood. The figures are played upon a platform. At the back of this is a screen painted with scenery, which rises to a height of some five feet or more. Behind this is a platform on which the men who play the figures stand. One person is needed for the manipulation of each figure. These are let down from above on to the platform in front of the screen. Their movements are astonishingly lifelike. They are made to walk, run, move their arms most naturally, dance, embrace, and engage in all sorts of pranks. The players are out of sight, a curtain falling to the top of the scenes and a little in front of them quite con- cealing them from the spectators. Each manipulator speaks for his puppet in the tone and manner deemed appropriate. Regular plays are composed and rendered. The performances are given usually in regular theatres. Handbills announcing a varied entertainment are distributed. Admission in con- siderable towns ranges from one to three reales — 3d. to 9d. The managers sometimes write their own plays, but several printing houses have published such plays, some of which are as well known as Punch and Judy. Sr. Herranda has published a number of puppet plays. They are usually comic, and often contain rude and extremely coarse allusions. The common Mexican audience is not refined ; and such allusions, however 22 PUPPET-SHOWS broad, are met by roars of laughter. The puppets in the collection are the entire company in a little two-act comedy called El Borracho Mexicano, written by Alejandro Aguirre of Zacatecas. This has not been printed, and is characterised by the features above mentioned, 82. Photograph of puppets. 83-88. Puppets. 89. MS. EI Borracho Mexicano: " The Mexican Drunkard," a two-act puppet comedy. The hero is an unscrupulous drunken newsvendor, who has keen native wit. He gets into a brawl on the street, is arrested, and is dragged before the judge. He intentionally misunder- stands the questions and admonitions of the magistrate and answers them with irrelevant or insolent replies. 90. Teatro Infantil : a series of penny plays intended for child-performers or puppets. Some of these are extremely popular. GAMES OF SKILL 23 GAMES OP SKILL FOR ADULTS. CHESS (Ajedres) : Is much played. The sets of pieces are often fanciful or artistic. The two sets in the collection were made in Puebla. 91, Set of Chessmen : Spaniards and Cubans. Until the intervention by the United States, Mexican sym- pathy was strongly in favour of the Cuban insurgents. This sympathy showed itself in many ways. This set of chessmen illustrates it. 92. Set of Chessmen : national. One series of pieces represents the Republican, the other the Imperialist parties. Portraits of Hidalgo, Juarez, and Diaz are set against Maximilian, Carlota, and the Generals of the French Intervention. PLAYING CARDS (Naipes) : 93, Pack of playing cards : ordinary. Forty cards make up the pack. The suits are oro (coin), bcisto (club), espada (sword), copa (cup). 94. Pack of playing cards : national designs. The cup, sword, and club are copied from old Aztec patterns, and the coin is a copy of the famous Calendar stone. The figures on the court cards arc Indian. 24 children's toys CHILDREN'S TOYS AND GAMES. In this description the following crude classification is adopted : ! Miniatures of real life. Simple toys. Puzzles. J Toys used in some game. j Games., Outdoor Sports. i llndoor Sports if neral and { ^ (board games i Rhymes and songs. \ Counting-out rhymes. MINIATURES OF OBJECTS USED IN REAL LIFE : There seems to be an unusual fondness among Mexicans for making in miniature the tools and implements of real life. These are sold as children's toys, and a complete collection of them would almost form an ethnographic museum. 95. Kitchen pottery : pitcher, eared bowl, mixing dish, frying pan. Of the grade of the cheapest ware: glazed. 4 pieces. Puebla. 96. Similar: smaller. 6 pieces. Puebla. 97. Similar : still smaller. 8 pieces. Puebla. 98. Kitchen pottery: pitchers, mugs, plate bowls: green and brown ware : glazed. 6 pieces. Guadalajara. 99. Kitchen pottery : red glazed ware. Two pieces. Guadalajara. 100. Kitchen pottery : red polished ware : pitcher. Guadalajara. 101. Kitchen pottery: Miniatures of the sweet-smelling ware. This, made of a special clay, exhales a sweet odour MINIATURE OBJECTS 25 when water is first poured into it. The property disap- pears in time, but is quite persistent. Three pieces. Guadalajara. 102. Comallis or griddles : The earthen griddle, used for baking corn cakes or tortillas, bears the Aztec name of comal. The miniatures are copies in material, form and glaze. Two pieces. Guadalajara. 103. Brasero: The Mexican stove is a small brasier of earthenware, in which a fire of charcoal is kindled : this may be fanned with a fire fan. Plain red ware. 104. Similar : smaller. Glazed ware. Puebla. 105. Fire-fan: Puebla. 106. Metate and Metlapilli : The Metate (Az. Metatl) is the stone on which the maize is ground to meal. The Metlapilli (Az.) is the stone, held in the hand and with which the grinding is done. The miniature, of black pottery, resem- bles the actual dark igneous rock. Puebla. 107. Metate ^vith Metlapilli and two enchiladas (corn- cakes) ready to be baked. Brown and green pottery. Guadalajara. 108. Kitchen Wall Bracket, supporting a full outfit of knives, wooden spoons, forks, chocolate muller, etc. Puebla. 109. Wooden Dough-Tray: Puebla. 109. RebOZO : scarf or shawl worn over the head and shoulders : universal among the lower class mestizo women. As folded and done up for sale. Puebla. 111. Scrubbing brushes: Puebla. 112. Miniature objects cut in bone : chocolate muller, weaving block, spool of silk, hair parter, combs, cup. Puebla. 113. Miniature toys: even toys themselves are made in miniature: peg and ball. (For full sizes see ISTos. 155-157.) Puebla. 26 MINIATURE OBJECTS 114. Miniature toy: top. (For full sizes see Nos. 159, 160.) Senor Alatriste of Puebla finds a sale for little earthenware representations of Indian houses and outbuildings. 115. Indian hut of Tlaxcala. 116. Indian hut of Tlaxcala with cwe^roma/e and stone wall. 117. Indian hut: with temaseal. 118. Cuezcomatl : Tlaxcala. 119. Cuezcomatl : Two vase types, Tlaxcala. 120. Temaseal of Tlaxcala 121. Indian hut: ia hot land. Indian houses in the towns in the State of Tlaxcala are usually built of stone or of adobe sun-dried bricks. They are usually in an enclosure surrounded by a stone wall. Within this enclosure are frequently two forms of lesser structures — cuezcomates (Az. cuezcomatl) and temascals (Az). The former is a storehouse for maize and beans. It is a more or less vase- shaped building of clay or clay and stones, rising at times to ten feet in height, and often with a cover or roof of thatch. The temaseal is a sweat-bath house built of stones and adobe and dome-shaped — perhaps three feet or so in height. SIMPLE TOYS: Figures : Small figures of animals, made of baked clay and wire, care- fully coloured and notably life-like. 122. Deer. 123. Burro : donkey. 124. Horse. 125. „ 126. Bull. FIGURES ; WHISTLES 27 127. Bull: Puebla. 128-130. Very crude, cheap, animal figures in pottery : glazed. Coyote, horse, bull, goat, cat, turtle, tarantula. While very coarsely made and badly coloured, each has some absolutely identifiable characteristic. Guadalajara. Whistles: 131. Simple whistles of plain pottery. Guada- lajara. 132. Man. 133. Woman. 134. Rabbit. 135. Goat. 136. Dog. 137. Cat. 138. Sheep. 139. Sheep. 140. Burro. These awkwardly shaped and glaringly painted animals are made by the same workers and sold at the same shops as the carefully made figures of Nos. 33, 34, and 292-300. Guadala- jara. 141. Siren : Guadalajara. 142. Siren „ The following explanation is given of the siren. A girl once gave her mother much trouble by bathing in the sea. Though repeatedly told not to do so, she persisted. One Holy Friday she declared her intention to bathe. Her mother remonstrated earnestly, because it was Holy Friday. The girl, however, was headstrong. The mother cried out : " Well, if you do 28 SAVINGS-BANKS bathe to-day, you will turn into a fish." The girl bathed, and became the siren. Savings-Banks : Savings-banks of earthenware are made in many forms of fruits and animals. Among the more common are bananas, iicamas, limas, oranges, tomatoes, chilis, pigs, horses, lions, dogs, and burros. They illustrate the wide use of pottery. The ancient Mexicans made almost everything in earthenware, and their successors almost equal them in this respect. 143. Earthenware savings-bank : form of granada, or pomegranate. Guadalajara. Naguales : Among the figures made as toys for children these are the most curious. They represent a four-legged animal, with no tail, a woolly fleece and a human face. It is usually supplied with some sort of a cap, and bears upon its back the booty which it has stolen from some house. Many curious ideas prevail regarding these creatures, whose existence is seriously believed in. Children are frightened into good behaviour by threats of naguales. As examples of common belief the following stories will suffice. When one is believed to be approaching, the house isdeserted and left for it to clean out. They have sometimes iron claws, and sometimes put something on their feet to enable them to climb up trees. At Autlan, a nagual really appeared once. The place was deserted, but two drunken fellows quarrelled about it — one claiming it a diahlo, the other a nagual. They together attacked it and killed it. It turned out to be a couple of men dressed up to represent the usual idea of the beast. The government gladly let off" the killers. On seeing a piiiata representing a distorted human figure Fig. 3.- NAGUAL: GUADALAJARA (Nos. 144-148.) Fig, 4.-NAGUAL: GUADALAJARA. (Nos. 144-148.) NAGUALES 29 covered with a wool of black tissue paper. Mr. Powell's maid said it was just like a bruja or nagual which was burned in Orizaba this past year. This nagual had given much trouble in robbing, taking away household articles and food materials. It was hunted and killed in a corral.- It was then taken and burned. When first pursued it went on all fours, but when finally attacked it stood up like a man. It was covered with a black fleece. The girl saw it after it was killed, but before it was burned. It was the size of a man. At Cholula, Manuel once saw a nagual. He says that when first seen a nagual is the size of a coyote, but that as it approaches to rob one, it grows to be the size of a burro. It can be trapped. He saw one on his own street, Galle de Jerusalen, through a crack in the door. It had lain in wait and was about to attack some rich ladies. It was, however, watched, and four men from as many directions rushed out at one time, and each made a cross at his proper point in a circle sur- rounding the nagual. It was now impossible for the creature to escape, and he waited — as paralyzed— for the ofiicers, who quickly came and took him away. They are believed often to have power for magic from the devil. One man relates that when he was a small boy in the State of Guanajuato {Hao° de Burros) an old woman had three fat pigs. A man who desired to steal them did himself up in sacking with wool fleece, claw-ed his hands, rubbed jnatches on his palms and around his eyes, and visited' the old lady's lonely home. ^ He got her pigs, while she died shortly from fright, convinced that she had . seen an agent of the devil. 144. Nagual : pottery. Wears a green cap, and lias stolen a jar of honey and njicama. 145-146. Naguales: pottery. Much alike, with, cleft caps. 30 NAGUALES One carries a metate and ajicama, the other a metate and a comal. 147. Nagual : pottery. Pointed red cap with green tip ; carries a metate and ajicama. 148. Nagual : pottery. Negro with a red cap ; carries a great beet and a jar of honey. All these naguales are from Guadalajara. 149. Nagual : pottery. Much larger. This belongs as truly to the series of muertos (Nos. 301-420). The creature bears upon his back a skeleton, which wears a red cap, flies a flag, and carries a cut of watermelon. Guadalajara. It is probable that these naguales are related to ancient ideas of sorcery. The name nagual is still used in parts of Mexico and Central America as the equivalent of witch, sorcerer, or medicine man. One of the commonest powers of these persons is transformation. The idea and the word are both ancient and aboriginal. In Dr. Brinton's Nagualism we read several passages from old writings about naguals. Thus : " There are magicians who call themselves teciuhtlazque, and also by the term nanahualtin, who conjure the clouds when there is danger of hail, so that the crop may not be injured. They can also make a stick look like a serpent, a mat like a centipede, a piece of stone like a scorpion, and similar deceptions. Others of these nanahualtin will transform themselves to all appearances into a tiger, a dog, or a weasel. Others again will take the form of an owl, a cock, or a weasel ; and when one is preparing to seize them, they will appear now as a cock, now as an owl, and again as a weasel." (Fray Juan Bautista : 1600. Brinton : I.e. p. 6.) "Truly he was a wonderful king (Gugumatz). Every seven days he ascended to the sky, and every seventh day he followed the path to the abode of the dead ; every seven days he put on the Fig. 5.-NAGUAL AND MUERTO: GUADALAJARA. (No. 149.) \_To face jioge 'iO. Fig, 6,-NAGUAL AND MUERTO: GUADALAJARA. (No 149.) {To face imge 30. RATTLES ; GOURDS 31 nature of the serpent, and then he became truly a serpent : every seven days he assumed the nature of an eagle, and then he became truly an eagle : then of a tiger, and he became truly a tiger : then of coagulated blood, and he was nothing else than coagu- lated blood." (Le Popol vuh., p. 315. Brinton, p. 26.) " Father Bartolome de Baeza, cura of Yaxcaba in the first half of this century, reports that an old man, in his dying con- fession, declared that by diabolical art he had transformed himself into an animal, doubtless his nagual." * (Brinton, p. 25). In these children's toys we have undoubtedly the shadow and representation of the ancient conjuror with his power of beast-transformation. Rattles : Children's rattles are made of many materials and in a variety of forms. 150. Rattle of Straw^ : in shape of a bird. Puebla. 151. Rattle : pottery. Gourd shaped. Guadalajara. Gourds : These are lacquered at several towns in the hot country. With the seeds left in, they often serve as rattles. Little bowls cut from them are miniatures of larger bowls in common use. The gloss is obtained by a putty-like mass made from an insect— a species of coccus. 152. Gourd : lacquered. State of Guerrero. 153. Bowl : made of lacquered gourd State of Guerrero. * This last use of the word nagual requires a word of explanation. Among some tribes of Southern Mexico ai.d Central America the word nagual also means an animal companion and guardian. Each child was supposed to have such . Tiagual. 32 KITE 154. Tumbling figures : Mexico. 155. Peg and ball : Puebla. lou. ,, }, }* i-^ y ' )) 5) )j 158. Rotating Disk: Puebla. 159. Humming top „ 160. Top 161. Whizzer or Hummer: Cholula. Kites: Kites are much flown by boys and are made in several different forms, each with its own name. Those in the collection were made on purpose for it by Manuel Gonzalez, a Cholula boy Those made and sold in the shops often bear crude and comic pictures with accompanying inscriptions, conspicuous alike for their faulty spelling, and the corrupt forms of the words. To one form — the cocoles — a flapping sheet of paper is attached which produces a humming sound and is called a resumbadora. Cutting the string of an opponent's kite is a common practice. It is done by means of a specially-shaped little knife, called a media luna (half moon), which is fastened to the tail of the kite. 162. Kite : palomita. Cholula. 163. „ cubo „ 164. „ barillito ,, 165. „ quadrado „ 166. ,, cocoles: with resumbadora. 167. Media Luna : Puebla. A very pretty bit of writing by one of Mexico's most famous litterateurs, Maria Roa Barcena, deals with kite-flying, and compares life's struggles and experiences with those of boy- hood kite-flying. The sketch is entitled Combates en el aire, and in the course of it occurs the following passage : JOINTED TOYS 33 " The preliminaries of the sport dated from the manufacture of the kite. The commonest were either parallelograms or pan- dorgas of paper or cloth, according to the size and importance of the toy, with the frame and cross-sticks made of a strong and flexible cane called otate, with flaps of gut or parchment, or cloth at the apper and lower edges, which were slightly curved ; or bore the name and form of a cubo, with only three cross-sticks and a broad fringe of paper or cloth at the right and left. Both kinds were usually gay with the colours of our flag, or were decorated with figures of Moors and Christians, birds and quadrupeds. The tails were extravagantly long and formed of strips of cloth tied crosswise, at intervals, along a string, at the end of which was a tassel of rags : midway of its cord were usually the knives — terrible in the battle between two kites : they were two razor- edged cock-spur knives, projecting from the sides of a central shaft of wood, with which their bearer cut the string of his opponent, which, thus abandoned to its fate on the wings of the wind, went whirling and flapping through the air, to fall at a considerable distance. Night did not put an end to the sport ; there were messenger lanterns of paper hung from a great wheel of cardboard, through the central hole of which the kite-string passed, which, impelled by the wind, were sent up nearly to the kite with their candles lighted." Jointed Toys and Jumping Jacks : In great variety are made in various districts. Silao and Irapuato are however somewhat famous for these, and sellers of them meet all trains passing the two stations. The chief buyers are natives of the lower class. 168-175 Jointed Toys: Silao. 168. Man with dancing bear: two pieces. 169. White man playing guitar: two pieces. D 34 children's games 170. Man dressed in furs playing guitar. 171. Jumping Jack: Negro in furs. 172. Man : in oharra dress, on horse. 173. Clo^A/■n : when shaken, it squeaks. 174. Father Time : figure in pith. 175. Devil: figure in pith. CHILDREN'S GAMES : Outdoor Sports and Games with Rhymes and Songs : Toro Entero : The bull-fight is carried out, often in full detail. Some will sit by on an elevated place and furnish the music : a juez may be chosen. The bull may be penned. The fighters go through with the procession : capeadores, bande- rilleros, matadores work in succession ; the bull finally killed, the mules are called for to drag him out. No game is a greater favourite, and it may be seen played by street-boys in every plaza. In such cases, while no attention is paid to order and detail, much of the action is lifelike. Tattered serapes, ragged jackets serve as capas, and any stick answers for a handerilla or an espada. Toro Chicho : One boy takes the part of bull ; the rest are fighters and make sudden movements and thrusts at him. On his part he tries to strike them fairly on the back with his hand. One so struck is at once the bull. It is lively work. El leon y el tigre : (lion and tiger.) Two boys are se- lected as the lion and the tiger : the rest are cazadors (hunters) and arm themselves with sticks and shields. Attacks are then made, which are very real. A player once thrown or knocked down on his back is dead (muerto.) The game continues till both animals or all the hunters are dead. children's games 35 Momita : ( = blind man's buff.) After a person is chosen and blindfolded, two of the players take him by the hands and lead him forward a few steps ; he then gives a jump, and they turn him around two or three times ; they then greet him — Que has perdido ? (What have you lost ?) He replies — Una aguja y un dedal (A needle and a thimble). They ask — Ruido silencio? (Noise or silence ?) He replies. In case he says ruido, they clap their hands to help him locate them. While he tries to catch one of them they constantly grab at and pinch or pull him. One caught takes his place. Cahallero : (Cavalier.) The players, divided into equal parties, form two lines facing. The first pair carry on a dialogue as follows : (a) Caballero, Cahallero. (Cavalier, Cavalier.) (b) Sefior, 8enor. (Sir, Sir.) (a) Se le cae su casa enciina. (Tour house is falling down.) (b) Correre para la sola. (I will run out by the hall.) (a) Y si se cae la sake ? (And if the hall falls ?) (b) Correre para la recamara. (Run out by the wardrobe.) (a) T si se cae la recamara ? (And if the wardrobe falls ?) (b) Correre para la corridor. (Run out by the corridor.) (a) F si se cae la corridor ? (And if the corridor falls r") d2 36, children's games (b) Gorrere para la cocina. (Run out by the kitchen.) (a) T si se cae la cocina? (And if the kitchen falls?) (b) Gorrere para el corral. (Run out by the corral.) (a) Y si se cae el corral ? (And if the corral falls ?) (b) Gorrere para el trascorral. (Run out by the rear-corral.) This order of rooms njust be carefully observed in the replies. In case of a blunder either in question or answer, the other one says to the blunderer : Lleva me a manches. (Carry me on your shoulders.) The blunderer must then carry his opponent to a spot apart where he sets him down. The carrier is called a hutvo (donkey), and returns to his place in the line ; the other one is successfully out of the game. The next pair of players take up the dialogue, and the game goes on. Coyote : (coyote or wolf.) One player is the coyote, the rest are gaUinas (hens). The coyote stands to one side while the rest form a circle with joined hands. They then begin to whirl around and cry out : Coyote por donde vas ? (Coyote, where are you going?) He rushes out, and tries to seize one and drag him out of the ring. The others cannot drop hand-hold, but kick vigorously as they pass near him, to keep him off. The game is kept up until but one gallina is left. He becomes coyote in the next game. Culebra : (snake.) One player is aguililla (a little eagle). The rest in order of size take hold of each other by the top children's games 37 of the trousers or the bottom of the coat, and form a long line, the snake. The largest boy at the head of the column stands facing the aguililla. The following dialogue takes place : Ag. For donde sale el sol :' Where does the sun rise ? Cul. Aca. There. Ag. No! aca. No! there. Thereupon as if in great anger over the contradiction they begin to play. There is much yelling and waving of hands at each other between the snake's head and the little eagle. The latter tries to seize the little fellow at the serpent's tail and tear him from the rest : he does the same to the next, and so on. He may, if he can, tear away two at once. He runs the risk, however, always of being caught in the serpent's coils. If ha eats a considerable number of the others he gains : in case he is caught and crushed, the serpent wins. Tlaco de Queso: (Half -penny worth of cheese.) Two persons only play. One sets a stick up in the middle of the street; the second throws a stone at it, trying to dislodge it and make it fly as far as possible. The one who set the stick at once runs to it, places it on the top of his right foot, and must so carry it, without dropping it, back to where he had set it up. Until he gets it there, the other player has been running backward as fast and as far as he can, stopping as soon as the other has done his task. The first must then carry the second on his back, as far as the latter has been able to run. So long as a thrower can succeed in hitting the stick he continues to throw : when he fails, the other takes his turn. 38 CHILDREN S GAMES Bebe leche : (drink milk.) A diagram is drawn upon the ground or pavement. Each part has its name. - Infir,i"no (Hell.) - Corona (Crown). - Beicleohe 2 (Bebeleuhe 2). - Cava (Face). - Beheleche 1 (Bebeleche 1). "" Descanso (Best). - Cajon 2 (Box 2). -• Cajon 1 (Box 1). -- Infierno (Hell). The Cava (face) is itself divided into four parts— /remie (forehead), harha (chin or beard), cachete 1 (first cheek), cachete 2 (second cheek). Sometimes the divisions 1, 2 are called ojos (eyes) instead of cachetes (cheeks). Caracol : (snailshell.) A stone is thrown into the diagram into the different sections in order. The player hops in on one foot and kicks it out. In case of failure, the next boy gets his turn. The whole diagram must be made in one play ; any failure necessitates beginning at the first (outer) section. children's games Gaballos : (horses.) Simple rounds of the diagram are made, -Corona, tossiiig in a stone and — kicking it out from each of the four sides in the order of their numbers, --«-^'^' 1,2,3,4. , 5. Los Gaballos is per- foi'med. 6. La vuelta al Mundo. When the stone lands in orejas, a play is lost. The beaten boy makes five vueltas al mundo with the victor on his back. Gaballos (2): TIaxcalles Modorra. 40 CHILDREN S GAMES Gigante: (giant.) A truly gigantic and complicated dia- gram is drawn upon the ground. Many of its parts have specific names. Infierno. . Techo. The cajones (spaces)are played in order. The stone is thrown in, the player hops on one foot and kicks it out. Infierno (hell) is not to be played, nor stepped into ; the landing of the stone at any time therein, or stepping into it, necessitates beginning anew. In the barriga (belly) one may rest. In it the stone is placed on top of the foot and kicked out. The stone is CHILDREN S GAMES 41 skipped out by the toe into barriga from all the subsequent cajones, but from there is kicked out, being placed on top of the foot. When one loses his play through a failure, he begins at the point of failure in his next turn. Gigante con cielo abierto : Played in regular order of the cajones. Hop on one foot: no stepping on a line and no stone on a line. Pato is a rest spot. From it the stone is placed -Pato. on one foot and kicked in in a single kick. Beyond pato, the stone must first be skipped by the toe-kick into it and then out as above described. 42 children's games Gusano: worm. e The exact mode of playing Bebe leche, Caballos (2), and Gusano was not noted. All are akin to Caracol and Caballos (1). Angel del Oro : Angel del (yro Bendice a sic tnarqaes A venido nino De la portuges Este no la quiero For fea y pelona JEsta me la llevo For linda y preciosa Farece una rosa Parece un clavel Acabado de nacer. Played mostly by girls. They form - a ring with hands joined : one stands in the centre. They sing the song, and the central one counts out as they sing. The one on whom the last word falls is out. The last one out becomes catcher in " Tag." children's games 43 Donde Tra: Donde tra canai'e canarete Donde tra canarete ra. They form a circle, and a central one, counting himself, counts out with the above rhyme. The last one out is the catcher. A base or home is then selected. The catcher can catch anyone off the base by simple touching. He has unlimited time to make the base before he can be caught. CeboUita: The players sit on the floor, in a line, near together, each between the legs of the one behind : each clasps the waist of the one before. One speaks to the front one in the line and says : HI padre quiere una cebollita. (The priest wants a little onion.) 8i pnede arronque lo. (All right if he can pull it.) He must then try to pull the first one up. If successful the onion so pulled is out, and the second is tried, and so on. Failure to pull up anyone gives this one his turn to be puller. Estira y Afloja: A blanket or other square object is taken and held by the players spaced symmetrically. The leader says : Quando yo te diga estira, afloja \ Qaando yo te diga afloja, estira. When I tell yon pnll, loosen : When I tell yon loosen, pnll. They all say : Estira y afloja Perdi mi caudal Estira y afloja Perdi mi caudal. Pnll and let go Give me my property. 44 children's games The leader then gives orders, either general or individual the opposite must be done under penalty of forfeit or being put out of the game. Los Pianitos: All but two stand in a line, with their hands held out in front of them with the backs up. Of the other two, one is seller and one buyer. They say : Que tiene listed que vende t What have you for sale ? Unas pianitos. Some pianos. Guanto cuesto / What do they cost V Mil pesos. A thousand dollars. Aqui le dijo la mitad del dinero. Here I give half of the money. The buyer now says : Que se tocan muy hien ! Do they play nicely ? To le digo que si. Yes indeed. Yo voy a tocar les. I go to try them. She moves her fingers over the backs of the outstretched hands as if playing a piano, but with no response. The dealer says : Que se ponge se solo un anillo de plata y se lave las manos cun agua jlorida. Tou must wear a .silver ring and wash your hands with florida water. children's games 45 The dealer then tries the pianos and they all give out music The buyer says : Luego tocan : manana vengo por ellns, Now they play, to-morrow I come for them. Another day she comes. The dealer says : Ahora no hay pianos : hay milpas. To-day there are no pianos : there are cornfields. Y estan inaduras ? And are they ripe ? 8i. Yes. T estan huenas ? And are they good ? Si. Yes. The buyer goes from one to another and snaps their teeth with her finger nail. She then pays half the money, promising to return another day. When she comes, there are no cornfields — they have changed into something else. After many strange transformations, each with its questions and replies, the final transformation is into bridges — purntes. The dealer says to the customer : No hay , hay jmentes. There are no : there are bridore;'. y estan buenas y no se caev ? And are they good and don't fall ? Qve si estan buenas. Yes, they are good. Entonces yo se meto memeto por debajo de los puentes y -"e caert. But suppose I go under the bridges and they fall. Yo le digo que si estan buenas y no se caen quando yo entro. I tell you they are good and do not fall when I go on them. 46 children's games Deje mis zapatos adentro de los puentes I take off my shoes on bridges. Metese a sacarlos. Go ahead and take them off. Whereupon the bridge falls and destroys the purchaser. La ensalada : (the salad.) All the players sit in a circle. One is Sr. Cura : among the rest one is la rmicJiacha mal criada : the rest are named after the ingreaients of a salad, table-utensils, etc. The Cura begins : Fui a la huerta y no encontre (^azucar). I was in the garden and found no (sugar) . The one named replies : Falta usted a la verdad, Sr. Cura? Was there indeed none, Serior Cura ? Donde estabas tu? Where were you ? To estaba en, la casa de (lechuga'). I was in the house of (lettuce). The one named replies : Mientes tu, ijo estaba en la casa de {cttchillo). You lie : I was in the house of (knife). The cura now addresses the last one named : Donde estaba? tu ? Where were you ? And so the game goes on. Failure to answer promptly and correctly on the mention of one's name involves a forfeit. The muchacha wmI crludu, is exempt, and answers or not, and irrelevantly, with impunity. children's games 47 Venaclo : (Deer.) The players sit down in a ring on the ground leaving a " door." At the side of each is heaped up a little pile of dirt with a depression at top. These are the drinking places of the deer, and water or spittle is put into them. One boy is " deer." Coming up behind each one in the ring, he strikes two stones together and says : Gacaon, cacaon, at the same time smelling of the head and shoulders. If he makes the boy laugh, he gives him a kick and passes on. When he has gone around the whole ring, he enters through the door and goes from drinking place to drink- ing place, sniffing at each. Sometimes, though this is reprobated, the players bob his head down into this water. After he has sniffed at all the drinking places, he tries to escape, but they try to keep him in the pen. He breaks out below if he can, when all break the ring and pursue. The boy who catches him becomes deer, but must be carried by the deer on his back to the old ring first. Maria Blmiai, : The players form a connected ring : one standing within is Maria Blanca : one outside is Felipon. The players and the one outside carry on a conversation : Ron, ron, ron. Quien anda rodeando mi casa ? Who is going around my liouse 'r Felipito Felipon. Quien e$ ess viejo tripon ? Who is this old fatty ? Ando a luscar de Maria Blanca. I am liTinting for Maria Blancfi. Maria Blanca esta culiieria Con pilares de oro y plata. 48 children's games Maria Blanca is protected By pillars of gold and of silver. Bomperemos un pilar Para ver a Maria Blanca. We will break a pillar To see Maria Blanca. De que es esta pilar ? Of what is this pillar made ? De papote. Of grass. Y este ? And this y De oro. Of gold. Y este ? And this ? De plata. Of silver. Y este ? And this ? De plomo. Of lead. &c., &c. As she asks the material she touches the link, where two hands join. She then tries to break through the circle to reach Maria Blanca. This the ring tries to prevent. In case she should succeed, Maria Blanca must run from the circle and then try to get back before Felipon can touch her. The circle readily breaks to allow her to pass, coming and going. At one point in the chain-testing, Maria Blanca must break out. Prendaf : Forfeits are given in many games and must be redeemed. They are held over the head of one player who in answer to the question, decides what shall be done. The children's games 49 more common forfeits have specific names and some are quite ingenious. Generally they are to perform some work common in adult life, thus to make and sell tortillas, enchilados, etc. Among common forfeits are : Que vende nieve. To sell ices. Que vende tortillas. To sell tortillas. Que vende atole. To sell atole. Que vende enchiladas. To sell enoliiladas. Que pido im heso rogado. To beg a kiss. Que le dan para su boda. Be given something for her wedding Que sirve de espejo. To act as a looking-glass Santo mocaro. Nose blowing. Manos postizos. False hands. Oallos : Two boys play. Each holds up his right foot with his right hand, and by hopping and butting against the other with the knee of his upheld leg, tries to throw him over. The hands may not be used. Oja de tabaco: Played by boys or girls. The players form a file, each holding on to the one in front. One outside faces the leader of the file and says : Que dice el Sr. Gura que si manda una oja de tabaco : The priest says to send him a leaf of tobacco. The leader replies : At7-as por ella : behind for it. At these words the catcher runs to touch the last person in the line, who tries to place himself at the head of the line before he is touched. There is much dodging and running connected with this. If the change of place is made safely, the catcher addresses the new head, and again tries to catch the rear person, who again runs to become head. Should the E 50 children's games catcher touch the other, he takes his place at the head of the line, while the one caught becomes " it." Anda la rata : Chiefly played by girls. The players sit in a circle, on the floor, with their hands behind them. One with a rebozo in her hand walks behind them and strikes with it anyone who may not have her hands properly placed. As she goes around she repeats : Anda la rata Detras de la caja Anda el rat on Detras del cajon Anda la gallina Detras de la cocina Anda el coiiejo Detras del espejo Anda la ardilla Detras de la silla Anda el gallo Detras del caballn Anda la vieja Detras de la reja Anda la luna Detras de la tuna. The mouse runs Behind the box ; The mouse runs Behind the chest ; The hen runs Behind the kitchen ; The rabbit runs Behind the looking-glass The squirrel runs Behind the chair ; children's games 51 The cock runs Behind the house; The old woman runs Behind the ploughshare ; The moon runs Behind the cactus.* At any place she chooses she drops her rebozo behind one of the players. This one, starting up, takes the rebozo and pursues her. They have this dialogue as they run : Donde fuiste ? Where are you going ? Oon mi naniia. With my little one. Que comistes ? What do you eat ? Zofites con miel. Zopites and honey. Tf. supieren d hien ? How do you like them ? Gomo la iniel. With honey. Te supieren a Trial ? How don't you like them F Gomo la sal. With salt. Anda pero muchaoha, sientete in tu lugar. Run girl, seat your- self. They run three times around, and the one pursued drops into the empty space in the circle. Pan quemado : The players all form an open line with hands joined. The girl at one end is questioner, the one at the other end is answerer. They say : Comadre. Compadre. Quantos panes hay en la orca. Veinte un quemados . Quien les quemo. El pen-ito traidor. Queme lo, queme lo por lahrador. * In the translation the rhyme and jingle are completely lost. E 2 52 children's games Comadre ! (Term of affectionate address.) Compadre ! (Also, but to a man.) How many loaves of bread are tbere ? Twenty-one burned. Wbo burned them ? The "wretched dog. Burn him, burn him, for a bad workman. The last one leading the line then goes under the joined hands of the first and second : when all have followed her, she has been turned around and her arms are crossed ; other- wise the line is as at first. The questions and answers are repeated and the line passes between the second and third, thus turning and tying another. Thus they do until all have been turned around and given crossed arms. El Navio: ( = " my ship comes in loaded with .") The players sit in a circle on the ground. One with a knotted handkerchief throws it to another player saying : "Hay va un navio cargado de " " There goes a ship loaded with " This one must reply with a word beginning with the letter mentioned. San Miguel : All the players but one form a line, each holding the one ahead by the waist. The one at the head is the old woman : the rest are her children. The other is a shoemaker. They all stand. The old woman calls : Zapatero. Shoemaker ! Que ? What ? 'No te liable. I did not speak to you. This is repeated several times. Finally she says : Quiero que me haga unos zapatos. I want you to make me some shoes. childben's games 53 Thereupon he goes about with a stick and draws a line around the foot of each one. As he does so the person says : Hare que quema ! My ! it burns. He replies : Porque ? Why ? The person answers : For la matetena. For the matetena. When he has measured each he goes away, pretends to make the shoes and then returns. They pretend to put on the shoes. He then says to the old woman : Pagame. Pay me. No. No. Si, me paga. Yes — pay me. No le pago. I will not pay. This is kept up for some time. Finally he says : Te roho un nino. I will steal a child. No. No. Si. Yes. No. No. Then they try to keep out of his reach, but must not break their hold : the old woman tries to prevent. He may catch anyone whom he can. It is kept up until the old woman has lost all her children. Al Cansadas: A plain tag: the toucher is free to touch anyone, at any time where they are not on home. Rueda del Garbanzo : The players form a circle, with one outside. They begin by saying : A rueda del garbanzo El qne se caiga Es burro inanso. 54 children's games Ring of peas, Who falls Is a gentle burro. They are circling about at this, and as they go cry out : A que venga la aguililla ? A cofner su mantequilla. A que venga la guilona ? A comer su mantecona. For what comes tlie little eagle ? To eat his butter. For what comes the big dunce ? To eat his sugar-tit. Meantime the girl outside tries to catch one of those in the ring and drag her out. The rest kick at her, to keep her off. At the mention of the aguililla they squat down and the out- side one tries to touch a tardy one. One caught or touched standing when she should squat becomes " it." Casitas d alquilar: (cf. Puss wants a Corner). All but one of the players select definite points for "houses." As long as they remain touching these they are safe. The one who is out is supposed to be trying to rent a house. She goes in order from one to another saying : Each replies : Que no hay casitas a, alquilar ? Are there no houses to rent ? En casa de Don Juan Aguilar. At the house of Don Juan Aguilar. In case anyone questioned answers anything else (as for example. Si, hay, there are), she is out of the game. While the renter is asking questions, players try to exchange places. CMILBREn's GAME8 55 In case the renter can seize a vacated place the person left without a house becomes renter. Two persons cannot at any one time be on one house. Mala Conchoncha : Is simply whirling, singly or in couples, vigorously in order to become dizzy. Alca7^taz: All the players but one sit in a circle. She goes around with a cone of paper [alcartaz) point down in her hand and says : Me coiiipra este alcartaz ? Will you buy this cornucopia ? Que tiene adentro ? What is inside of it ? Ave refran y verso. Repeat a proverb and a verse. The player must then offhand name an animal and repeat a verse of poetry. Failure, to do so promptly, requires a forfeit. Las velas rancias : The players sit in a circle, one of them being leader. The rest all select each the name of a city or country. After these selections are made, they are counted off by twos ; these are companions ; when any name is called, not that one but her companion must answer. The leader begins : Tengo siele velas mwi/ ranzias y una se la va d comer. I have seven very rancid candles and one is about to be eaten. At this she mentions one of the player's names. The com- panion of the one named replies : No se va de comer. It is not about to be eaten. Si, va de comer Yes, is going to be eaten. 56 children's games And she names another. If the person named answers, or if her companion fails to answer, a forfeit is demanded and the player in fault drops out. When this last occurs, constant readjustment of partners is of course necessary. Juan Pirolero: All sit in a circle: one being the leader All but the leader select a trade : — washerwoman, tortilla- maker, dressmaker, grinder, etc., etc. The leader is a flute- player. Throughout the game a little song is sung : Este es eljuego De Juan Pirolero. Que cada cual Atiende a su juego. This is tlie game Of Juan Pirolero. Let everyone Attend to his play. While the song is kept up, each of the players in pantomine exhibits her trade, and the leader by gestures appears to play a flute. At times she changes and mimics the motions proper to one of the other players. This one must at once, under penalty of forfeit, take to fluting, changing instantly to her own performance when the leader again changes. The game requires close attention. Vibora (snake) ; All the players but two form in file, with hands on the shoulders of the one in front. The tallest is in front and the rest decrease in height backward. Two form a bridge, with j oined upraised hands. The vibora twists its way through under this bridge, but the last one is caught by its descent. She may try to escape capture by ducking, but rarely succeeds. The names of two fruits are whispered in her ear : one of these she chooses, and then lines up behind the leader to whom it children's games 57 belongs. While the vibora marches around or under the bridge all sing : A la vibora, vibora, ve la mar For aqui deve pasar Una nina, nina, cual sera La adelante corre mucho La detraz si quedera. The game is kept up until all have been caught by the descending bridge and have taken places behind the two leaders. The two sides then pull against each other, each trying to drag the other or its separated leader across a given mark. Cedazo : (sieve.) The players stand in line, one behind the other. The catcher stands in front of this facing and says : Me vende Ud. un cedazo. Sell me