Oaxaca Cultural Navigator

We walked up to the Presa (reservoir) that day, it was a Friday, very early before it got too hot, and on the way back stopped by to say hello to Ester, Russio and their three girls–Jazmin, Ester and Rocio–who live in the house with the golden bull and the cackling guacalotes just in front of our friend Annie on the hillside at the outskirts of town. What was once a donkey path in front of their modest adobe casita has become a graded thoroughfare, enabling small cars and trucks to come into town from the remote mountain villages. The walking is easier now, not as many granite outcroppings to traverse as we pass through cactus meadows with grazing sheep, cattle and horses. Development is extending its reach even in Teotitlan.

Please come to the escuela this afternoon at 3 p.m., Ester and Russio invited us. Today is the elementary school graduation; daughters Ester and Rocio will be participating in the fiesta. Come, they said, even if you’re late. After noodling around the village, stopping for coffee at The Sacred Bean Cafe, and visiting with Josefina and Magda at Las Granadas Bed and Breakfast, I went to the elementary school, drawn by the music coming from the plaza. It was after 4 p.m. and things were just getting going.

This is the second graduation ceremony I attended during this visit. As I watched this group of first through sixth graders at the elementary school, I was struck by how children are taught at an early age to dance, sing, play, laugh, honor their cultural traditions through dance, revere their history, and demonstrate appreciation for the customs that define their identity as Zapotecs and as Mexicans. What I noticed was how the ceremony of something even as simple as an elementary school graduation takes on epic proportions. Here is the village’s very own Guelaguetza. It appeared to me that the entire village turned out in support. People dressed up in their finest frocks and fanciest shoes,

there were reserved seats of honor for parents and close relatives of the graduates. Everyone participated to collectively bless the future of all these young people with their presence, whether they were graduating or not. The village as extended family promoted a feeling of well-being, joy and comfort. The area was bedecked with balloons and flowers. Drinks were handed out gratis to family members of the graduates. Along the periphery and outside the school, vendors sold refrescas (soft drinks), helados and nieves (ice cream and sorbet), and postres y dulces (pastries and sweets). Students giggled, laughed, were nervous about whether they would do well, played tag, hung on their mother’s

skirts, stood soldierly while posing for photos, took their roles seriously, fell down and got up again, shouldered the burden of heavy baskets balanced on small heads, smiled in satisfaction of having done well at the end. All will go on to middle school, some of those will go on to high school, and then very few will continue on to university. Most will become weavers or laborers, others will work in Oaxaca or travel with coyotes to work in the U.S. Celebrations of village life cycle events are a constant, mixed with joy, tragedy and continuity.

Karen Karuza arrived this morning to begin a four-day weaving and natural dyeing workshop with the Chavez Santiago Family, Francisco I. Madero #55, Teotitlan del Valle at their studio and gallery. Karen is an artist and has been teaching textile design at the Art Institute of Philadelphia for 20 years. Her son, Sebastian, age 14, who was born in Oaxaca, accompanied her. It was perfect because he could hang out with Omar Chavez Santiago, also age 14. Karen is not an experienced weaver, but took to the process instantly with expert guidance from master weaver Federico Chavez Sosa.

Federico and his daughter Janet Chavez Santiago first explained to Karen how the Zapotec loom is used and how it was warped. Then, they all went into the rug gallery where Federico and Janet pulled out many rugs woven with natural colors so Karen could see the choices of color combinations and patterns that she might use in the piece she planned to weave. Here, she could see the finished pieces woven by Federico, his wife Dolores, Janet, and sons Eric (age 24) and Omar.

Next, Federico and Janet took Karen upstairs to the area where the dyed wool is stored. Here, she could choose the colors she preferred. Then, they went back downstairs to the weaving workshop area where Federico showed Karen how to wind bobbins using the spinning wheel.

With Karen at the loom next to him, Federico then demonstrated the tapestry weaving techniques of Teotitlan del Valle, how to put the shuttle through the loom, use the foot pedals, and manipulate the yarn to achieve an even border. The two fourteen year olds, Omar and Sebastian, worked together to spin the wool onto bobbins that would be put into the shuttle.

As the family gathers around the loom, Federico teaches and coaches, Janet translates as necessary, and both father-daughter team encourage Karen as she begins the rhythm of weaving. Janet says, “When you have the idea how the loom works, it is easier to do it. It just takes practice.” Karen is learning quickly and after only a few hours, has created the beginning of a beautiful tapestry that she intends to use as a wall hanging when she returns home.

“This is really exciting,” she said. “I’m here because I want to be able to talk about traditional weaving techniques with my students and other textile faculty members. It’s professional development that will be very helpful in my work.”

After the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. period of instruction is over, Karen, along with her son, gathered around the family table for comida — the mid-day meal — that included homemade sopa de elote con flor de calabassas and tasajo con queso, salsa y tortillas prepared by Dolores Chavez Arrellenas who is an extraordinary cook. Now, to get ready for tomorrow’s lesson, Omar is squeezing 100 limes by hand. The juice will be used to prepare the cochineal for the dyeing portion of the workshop.

Note: The workshops are held in the taller — home and studio — of Federico Chavez Sosa and his wife Dolores Santiago Arrellanos, in the village of Teotitlan del Valle, about 17 miles outside Oaxaca city. The gallery and studio is open daily, however, it is always wise to call ahead to make certain that someone is home! The phone number is (951) 52 44078. Add 011 52 if calling from the U.S.

Coming Wednesday, July 9, 2008, Teotitlan del Valle

Nine young Zapotec men in their 20’s and 30’s bedecked in bold primary colors – red, green, yellow, black — and crowned with feathered headdresses the size of a large moon, leap and twirl into the air, shake rattles and raise a carved and painted wooden talisman to the sky. They are reenacting the Spanish conquest through dance as an annual ritual of remembrance. The accompanying band, a crew of both veteran and youthful musicians, play flutes, cymbals, drums, trumpets, tubas, clarinets, saxophones, in an oompah-pah cadence reminiscent of a Sousa march with hints of German polka. They chant and speak a conversation between Moctezuma and Cortes, in which Cortes says there will be a special god that will come in the appearance of Cortes and conquer the Aztecs. The entourage includes Malinche, the Aztec princess who learned Spanish, became courtesan to Cortes, and betrayed her people according to lore. Two masked clowns, the buffoons, parade between the dancers and along the sidelines, make mocking gestures. Village children represent the Spanish soldiers in a parade that takes place before the dance begins.

This oral and performance history is centuries old, transmitted generation to generation as homage to indigenous survival. While the Spaniards decimated the native Mesoamerican population by as much as 95 percent as a result of disease (smallpox, influenza, etc.) and superior weaponry, the rich cultural traditions have nevertheless survived. The Dance of the Feather existed before the Spanish conquest, according to Uriel Santiago, one of the dancers I talked with. Originally it was an Aztec ritual dance to communicate with their gods for rain, sun and corn. The Aztecs dominated much of Mesoamerica, including the Mixtecs and Zapotecs of the Oaxaca region. When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, they had not seen the dance in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Bishop Manuel Gricida Martinez first saw the dance in the Mixtec village of Cuilapam. He thought it was a great way to modify tradition and incorporate the new Catholic religion – so most of the music and songs used in the dance are now Spanish and French. The Spaniards also introduced long pants and the big feathered crown that we see today. The dialogs were designed by the Spaniards to prove the power of the empire. In Teotitlan, Uriel tells me there are three different codices with three different dialogs, and there is a controversy about which one is the accurate version.

At least 10 villages in the Oaxaca Valley have their own version of the Danza de la Pluma that is held during the week honoring the particular village’s patron saint. Each village uses similar dance patterns, however Teotitlan del Valle costumes are much more elaborate. In Teotitlan del Valle, the Danza de la Pluma is scheduled to start this year on July 9 (this is one week later than usual). Practice for the actual three-day dance-a-thon is grueling. There are at least 15 different complex dance sequences that are performed continuously in the church plaza for 10-hours. The dancers, who volunteer as part of their practice to give back to their community, make a three-year commitment, and each group has a teacher who designs the choreography and dialogs. The teacher has told the dancers that they can adapt the dialogs, so it is difficult for Uriel to know the true history and he believes it is likely that the original dance is lost. What does remain intact, he says, is the dancers’ commitment to the village Church of the Precious Blood and its saints. He loves the emotion of dancing, the interdependency of his dance partners, and the link of the dance to his faith.

This week I attended the all-day practice held in the front yard of the Moctezuma, Manuel Bazan, in preparation for the July 9 event. The wives, mothers, and sisters of the dancers and musicians had already gathered early in the morning to begin the meal preparations for afternoon comida, to which we were invited. At 3 p.m. the music and dancing stopped, the men took their seats at table and raised a traditional toast. The fiesta tradition is to toast first with two shots of mezcal followed by two Corona Victoria’s. The women, who included a physician, the director of the kindergarten, teachers, vendors and merchants, served traditional chicken soup flavored with Yerba Santa (a delicious herb), followed by a platter of roasted chicken, vegetable mix of fresh corn, nopalitos (cactus), and carrots, spicy black bean refritos, and plenty of fresh corn tortillas hot off the comal (tortilla griddle) made with locally ground maize that was discovered and cultivated here more than 6,000 years ago.

Sitting across the table from me was Jorge Hernandez Diaz, PhD, professor of sociology at Benito Juarez University, the Oaxaca state university. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, he has written numerous books about indigenous culture and documented the Dance of the Feather as performed in various villages throughout the Oaxaca Valley. The Guelaguetza, the state organized dance extravaganza for which Oaxaca is famous, features La Danza de la Pluma for 10 minutes during the weeklong event. This hardly does justice to this centuries-old tradition, he told me.

We talked about how necessary tourism is for Oaxaca in order to preserve these historic cultural traditions, how weavers and carvers and potters depend upon tourism in order to continue their art and craft, and how concerned he is for the future of this culture because tourism, which fuels the economy, has been dropping off since 2004. Professor Hernandez Diaz talked in particular about San Martin Tilcajete as an example of what is happening. Here many very talented carvers have left the village and their art behind to work in bigger Mexican cities or to go to El Norte. Only the most famous and commercially successful have been able to make a reasonable living. The professor is calling San Martin a ghost town.

For me, cultural preservation is by definition a delicate balance. I believe we have a responsibility to be respectful and tread lightly as we explore indigenous cultures – whether they are here in the Oaxaca Valley or other parts of the world — in order to sustain and promote traditional lifestyles and art forms that are in danger of being lost. One important way of doing this is to promote and support people to continue to create by valuing their time and the quality of the their work. This will help them stay in their villages with their families, rather than going off to a distant land to earn a living –something that most don’t want to do.

So, for example, when I talk in my blog http://oaxacaculture.wordpress.com and website www.oaxacaculture.com about preserving Zapotec natural dyeing techniques and formulas, this about being willing to compensate weavers and paying a higher price for a textile that is woven with cochineal, indigo, moss, or pecan shells because the process takes so much longer to complete – and being enough of a knowledgeable collector/consumer to know the difference between a piece made with synthetic (and toxic) dyes and those made from natural plant and animal materials.

My blog captures search engine terms. Many people are inquiring about safety in Oaxaca since the APPO and teacher demonstrations of 2006. We travel to Oaxaca several times a year and are building a casita here. The city and surrounding environs are safe, secure and inviting. The people are warm, open and generous. Please don’t hesitate to visit!

An eighth grade education is mandatory in Mexico, and today we celebrated Omar Chavez Santiago’s graduation marking this milestone in typical Zapotec pomp and circumstance. There were 73 students who completed the Escuela Secondaria de Teotitlan del Valle in a three hour ceremony that was more like a mini-Guelaguetza. About half of the graduates will continue on to attend high school in Oaxaca City. The rest will farm or weave or apprentice a trade. Omar who is age 14, will have a one month break and then hop the bus every day starting August 11 for the 40 minute trip to a private high school where he will begin a college preparatory education. His favorite subject is mathematics. Omar weaves beautiful rugs, too.

We went as madrina and padrina (godmother and godfather), designated by Federico Chavez Sosa and his wife Dolores to represent the family and stand with Omar as he received his diploma. We took lots of photos because Federico and daughter Janet had left yesterday on an overnight bus to Mexico City where they had a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy this morning, so they could not attend. (Buenas noticias: they both got 10 year visas for the trip they are planning to the U.S. this fall.) We wanted to be sure they got the full flavor.

This morning Stephen took the wheel of the ancient dark blue Toyota pick-up and Dolores took the seat beside him. I climbed into the flatbed and Tia Ernestina climbed over the bumper to join me. She handed me a huge bouquet of flowers and a gift bag that Stephen and I would later present to Omar. We rode the six blocks to the lime-green painted school to get there just in time for the 9 a.m. start. As we entered the courtyard, I saw students clustered in small giggling groups, the band was pinning on their epaulets and blowing trumpet blasts and banging drum rolls, and the soon-to-be graduates clutched strings tied to big red and white striped tinsel balloons. The girls were dressed in light blue, pink and maroon uniforms depending on their school year. The boys wore short-sleeve white shirts, khaki pants, and matching khaki sweaters. It was buzzing and humming with excitement and energy.

There weren’t many people there and it was 9:10 a.m. For the next 50 minutes, families streamed in under the huge red and blue striped tent adorned with purple and white balloons. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and cousins carried floral bouquets and arrangements, some so large they hid the carrier. Each took their seats on cement bleachers. Dolores looked at me and Stephen, we all looked at each other and realized that the ceremony was called for Teotitlan time, which is one hour later than Oaxaca time (which is what most of us go by) — a source of constant confusion in the village. Patience is the most valuable attribute one can have in Mexico.

By 10:15 a.m. it was standing room only. The school administrators and a long line of village and state education and committee officials took their seats at the head table, and the ceremony began with the singing of the Mexican national anthem. An honor guard of young women dressed in serious navy blue and chosen for their academic achievements, unfurled the red, white and green Mexican flag. There is a strong sense of nationalism and reverence for independence in Mexico. Every village and city has a Calle 20 de Noviembre, Calle Independencia, and Calle Benito Juarez. In this indigenous village, all the students recited the national anthem, yet only about half the audience participated. I don’t know whether this is because they didn’t learn it because they didn’t attend school or their Zapotec allegiances are stronger than national pride.

After the anthem, Omar came to get us and we took seats two rows behind him and his classmates on the other side of the tent opposite from the bleachers, joining the others who would participate in the graduation ceremony.

The middle school is noted for it’s folkloric dancing program, and interspersed between the awarding of the certificates of meritorious achievements, the homilies to the value of education given by various directors, teachers, and civic leaders, we were entertained by costumed students who presented the dance traditions of various regions of Mexico. It was fabulous! Our own private Guelaguetza. Then, at about 12:15 p.m., came the awarding of the diplomas. Omar Chavez Santiago was in the second group of students to receive their diplomas, and Stephen and I had to pay attention to the protocol. We watched the first group to receive their diplomas very carefully. Then, Omar’s teacher announced his name and said he was being received by Norma Hawthorne and Stephen Hawthorne.

Omar walked to the table of dignitaries to receive his diploma and shake each of their hands, as we walked to the center of the tent, me carrying the bouquet of red roses and lilies and Stephen carrying the gift. We stood to receive him and gave him a huge hug and kiss of congratulations. Omar’s uncle Raoul came up to take photos, and then we went back to our seats. When all had received their diplomas they gathered in a group and released their balloons to the sky. With that the ceremony ended, and in great graduation fashion all over the world, there was a huge mingling and hugging, and kissing, and camera flashes. As we exited the school yard, the tuk-tuk moto taxis clustered, and at least five nieveria (ice cream carts) attendants were dishing out cones and cups to proud graduates and family members. We headed off to El Descanso for lunch.

Just 10 minutes outside the city of Oaxaca lies Monte Alban, the mountain-top pre-Columbian city of the Zapotecs. The road to get there is a switchback and as one makes the climb into the clouds, it is easy to see why this site was chosen.

It offered a superior 360 degree vantage point from which to scope the entire Oaxaca valley. Much has been written about Monte Alban (white mountain), named by the Spanish for the white flowering trees that cover the area each spring. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago cites the Zapotec civilization as being one of the most important in Mesoamerica., Zapotecs developed a political, social, and cultural organization that was very advanced, building a communitarian way of life of mutual support and decision making through a tribunal leadership structure. Today the vestiges of this system continue as committees of leaders govern Zapotec village life, where everyone meets, discusses, then votes on important issues. It is a way of life based upon cooperation, not competition. It is notable that Zapotecs developed the concept of zero which is represented by the “eye” symbol. The eye for them connoted infinity and from that vantage point at the top of Monte Alban and the ability to see earth and sky as seamless, it is easy to understand how they

could arrive at this conclusion. In Europe, through the Middle Ages, if you were a mathematician thinking about the meaning of Zero you would be burned at the stake as a heretic. At Monte Alban you will see the Observatory from which Zapotecs created a calendar based upon lunar and solar calculations. Jared Diamond, author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” comments that the Zapotecs had a more perfect calendar system that did not require a leap year.

The structures at Monte Alban are as impressive to me as those built by the Mayans at Chichen Itza. There is an observatory, temple, ball court, and huge expanse of what were public buildings and open gathering places. Perhaps 20,000 people would have lived in its surrounding terraced villages. Only 1.5 square miles of the 35 square miles of the site have been excavated and archeologists are working to uncover and discover more. If you are coming to Oaxaca, you don’t want to miss a visit to this impressive archeological site.

I recommend that you hire a guide (guia) when you get there. There are many on site who speak fluent English (and other languages) who will give you a much more personal and in-depth perspective of the Zapotec civilization. The cost is $25 USD for about 2 hours for up to 6 people. We hired Clemente Rodriguez Perez, who is very knowledgeable and personable. His cell phone number is 9515693006. Let him know I recommended you to him.

Monte Alban is to be savored. Plan to spend at least 3 hours there. It’s a lot of climbing up and down steep rock stairs, so you need plenty of time. To get there, take a tourist bus for 38 pesos per person round trip. The bus departs for Monte Alban at 10 a.m. and then not again until 12:30 p.m. It returns every hour on the hour starting at 1 pm. The station is located on Calle Mina. Go 3 blocks south of the Zocalo, turn right on Calle Mina, then continue for 3 blocks heading toward Abastos. It is on your left.

Leilani has been living in Teotitlan del Valle with the Chavez family and volunteering at the public health clinic. She has two weeks remaining of a four-week summer externship program that is part of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing global health education curriculum. Because I work at the university, I was able to help arrange this learning experience for her and what she is learning is hands-on, on-the-ground public health nursing. The take away message: not all definitions are the same when interpreted from different cultural perspectives.

Leilani is experiencing public health intervention and education.  She happens to be there during one of the three times during the year — February, May, September — that vaccination campaigns are underway.  With her co-workers, clinic doctors and nurses, this week Leilani spent three days walking the hillside village of 7,000 people to administer vaccines.  On another day, they drove to the highlands to remote mountain villages to see people. “We are working on keeping everyone vaccinated,” she reports.  So many who need vaccines are children.  Leilani noticed that people are not always eager to be vaccinated and she surmises that they don’t totally understand the benefits. Even with local health care providers doing the explaining, there is a lot of resistance, according to Leilani, who wonders how much people still rely on folk traditions to drive their decisions.  In a relatively prosperous village like Teotitlan which has one of the highest standards of living in Oaxaca because of their national rug-weaving reputation , this is not really surprising. There are other barriers to accepting health care technologies — many of the older, traditional people still only speak Zapotec as their sole language.

In the last week, Leilani helped around the clinic, worked with patients who needed their vital signs, height and weight measured before seeing the health professional for a consultation. She changed out the sheets and medical instruments in the consultation rooms.  Leilani reported that she cleaned the instruments using a mix of bleach and detergent, then wrapped the instruments in paper as instructed. Her supervisor explained that this was to keep them “sterile.”  This was not the definition of “sterile” that she was used to working in the U.S. health care system.  She wondered how the word “sterile” translates differently from one culture to another?

Her co-workers are friendly, warm and gracious. They tease her about her curly, thick hair and plaster it down with cream to make it more “work appropriate.” They laugh and sit around the kitchen table sharing stories about life in Mexico and the U.S. “I really like going to the village market,” said Leilani. “We usually make a stop there when we’re walking around the village to give vaccinations. I love the dulces, and I want to try some chapulines!”

Oaxaca dulces (sweets) are delicious, and chapulines (spicy, fried and ground grasshoppers) are a taste treat condiment that tops tacos, enchiladas and soups.

I am reading “Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history about everyone for the last 13,000 years” by Jared Diamond, which won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize. For anyone interested in the cultural, social and political history about human beings, this is THE book to read. Diamond asks the basic question, why were some societies able to develop the technology and wherewithal to conquer, lead, and dominate? Why did some remain hunter gatherers and others become farmers? Does it have to do with intelligence or something else? Diamond says it is the “something else.” It had to do with, he concludes, the identification of edible wild grains that could be cultivated and grown to sustain large populations. (Large populations being the key to technological prowess because they are able to grow enough food to feed specialists: warriors, ruling class, potters, scribes.) Most of these grains were native to Eurasia (the Fertile Crescent area). Another factor was the breeding of herding animals that could become sources for food and labor. The ancestors of goats, sheep, pigs, horses, and cows came from Eurasia. There were no animals on the North American continent that could be domesticated. The llama/alpaca from the Andes never made it north because of the geographic barriers. It was much easier for food and animals to cross the Eurasia continent on the same east-west axis latitude, than it was for animals and food to take hold on a north-south longitude (Africa and the Americas) where the climate differences can be extreme, limiting where seeds can be sown.  An alpaca would not do well crossing the Sonoran desert!

Diamond talks about whether food cultivation and sedentary farming, language and writing, technology development (stone to metal tools), developed independently in different parts of the world, or were developed in one part and transmitted to others.   The Sumerians of Mesopotamia developed writing in 3,000 B.C.   The other certain instance of independent writing origins in our human history, he says, comes from the Zapotecs in southern Mexico in around 600 B.C. where the earliest preserved script is partially deciphered.  There are about a dozen Mesoamerican scripts that are related to each other and the one that is best understood to date is from the Lowland Maya region.  The Zapotec language today is only an oral language and when it is written, for example, on the tri-lingual (Spanish, Zapotec, English) translations of the history keys at the Mitla, Dainzu and Yagul archeological sites, the Zapotec language is represented as a transliteration of the spoken words.  The Maya and Sumerian writing were organized on similar basic principles using both logograms and phonetic signs.  One might assume that the Zapotec language may have been similar, but it is not yet known.

I write this because it is one more discovery about the Oaxaca region that I find fascinating in the continuing commentary about culture, society, and life.  For a general review of the book, click here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

The preparation begins days, even months ahead. A few days before, the party truck pulls up to deliver hundreds of chairs and raise the huge red and blue striped tent that will cover the courtyard. The wedding celebration is about to begin. On the morning of the wedding, the couple welcomes their relatives in the altar room of the groom’s parent’s house. First, the men from the two families line up and, one by one, walk in to give their blessings to the couple, any advice they have for a good marriage, and any regrets about their relationship that they want to express. Then, the women line up and take their turn. After this, all assemble and form a parade walking around the streets of the village before going to church for the wedding mass, the band leading the way, the priest following, then the couple and their parents, and then all the guests – stringing out for several blocks.

The woman’s relatives do not pay for the wedding. In Zapotec tradition, the man’s side of the family covers all the costs: the mass, the band, the food and drinks, everything. People never rent a party house or hotel for the reception like we do in the U.S. Teotitlan del Valle families use their own house, rent the tent, hundreds of chairs, and provide food to feed all the guests. Everyone is invited (or so it seems) — all the close and distant relatives, aunts, uncles, godparents, cousins, nieces, close friends, and MORE. Anyone who has ever had an association the family is included on the guest list. You will see town folk lingering at the tall entry gates to the family compound where a wedding is taking place, waiting for an invitation to come in – which will always be extended. A wedding celebration could include hundreds of people. For example, Eric’s parents were recently invited to the wedding of the daughter of the man who delivers their drinking water. The man didn’t know Eric’s parents very well, but liked the way they acknowledged him when he delivered the water, so they were sent an invitation.

The woman’s family is responsible for giving the presents and money to the couple. The man’s relatives would customarily take a bottle of mezcal and flowers, but nothing more. Gifts could include major and small appliances, the size depending upon the closeness of the relationship. In wealthy families, gifts could be a car, a washing machine, a chest filled with gold coins, refrigerators, stoves, television, closets, and dishes. These are delivered to the girl’s house to store until the wedding day. At the end of the mass, the guests form the second parade of the day, the band plays and all promenade to the boy’s house for the reception. A truck or two, filled with the gifts, bring up the rear. Guests will take seats and watch as the trucks are unloaded and the gifts displayed in the center of the patio for all to see. Before cars and television, Eric thinks his people probably gave gifts of rugs, blankets, food and clothing, plus goods traded with other villages.

Guelaguetza: A System of Mutual Support

Weddings cost upwards of $15-20,000 USD. The groom’s family pays for about 60 to 70 percent of the expenses. This is a substantial sum for a weaver, whose annual income might be about $10,000 USD. The bride’s godparents always buy her wedding dress. That is the expectation when agreeing to become a godparent. Many families cannot afford to give a wedding but they feel an obligation to do it according to custom regardless of one’s means. A wedding party can last up to three or four days. When a family doesn’t have enough money, they will ask a relative or close friend to help them cover the costs, and promise to repay it later. This loan is known as the guelaguetza. There is no contract or written agreement. The spoken promise is honored regardless of how long the time passes. It could be one, five or 10 years later before repaying the guelaguetza. The man who made the original gift might say, “my son is getting married now and I would like you to provide the (fill in the blank …. music, barbeque, beer, mezcal, money). The repayment is always in the same form that was given. This is the Zapotec custom and Eric believes this is how his people have learned to honor their traditions, be mutually supportive and get along with each other over the centuries. Every time there is a dance of the feathers, a quince anos (Sweet 15), a wedding, a Christmas posada, or a baptism, there is a guelaguetza – the obligation of giving and paying back.

Eric believes that the women never enjoy the parties. Yet the social fabric of women’s lives are knit together in the camaraderie of life cycle events. Together, they make the fresh tortillas from scratch, starting two days before the event. They are cleaning the chickens, washing dishes, preparing the kitchen, chopping fruits and vegetables. The men are busy, too, trying to get the bull slaughtered to prepare for the barbacoa (goat barbeque), bringing in tanks of propane gas for the cooking stoves, buying the beer and soda, setting up the tent, and also cleaning the house. If the house is small and more space is needed, the men will dismantle the looms and take them out. They might clear out a bedroom or storage room to make more seating and dining space. There are weeks of chores in preparation for these events. Eric feels the women have harder work because they are in the kitchen constantly. That’s the primary reason why he doesn’t want a big traditional party — he is not eager for his mother to work that hard. He is sympathetic to the role of traditional women who prepare and serve the food, give first to the guests and the men, and eat last. And, he also knows that traditions are important to keeping a culture vibrant.

He notes, “When my cousins, the doctors, got married, they rented a party house in Oaxaca. But I saw that the women were bored, they didn’t have anything to do. They waited to be served but were very uncomfortable and didn’t understand this non-traditional practice. There were place cards for seating but in our culture everyone is used to sitting where they want. So, everyone got up and sat where they wanted to. The wedding reception ended after only a few hours, compared with a traditional Teotitlan wedding celebration that continues until 5 or 6 a.m. the next day.”

Some families are leaving the village because they cannot afford to participate in the guelaguetza system. Young people see that there are other choices for courtship and marriage via television and exposure to living in the city or working for a time in El Norte. Family expectations are powerful. Because so much depends upon extended family interaction, acceptance and interdependency, one wonders how these courtship and marriage customs will continue or be shaped by the pressure of external forces that all societies are challenged by.

Under the shadowy street lamps, far down the block, behind the outdoor corner altars, under hidden doorway arches, you can see the teenagers huddled deep in conversation, keeping their safe distance, engaging in their courtship rituals of getting to know each other. Young women do this in secret, far from the eyes of protective fathers and distrustful grandmothers. They will tip toe quietly like this for a year or two and then get married – typical courtship behavior in a village like Teotitlan del Valle, where most are weavers and don’t go beyond the eighth grade.

I’m sitting with Eric Chavez Santiago, my 24 year old friend, in my North Carolina living room, who tells it like it is. He’s telling me it is not unusual for a 20-year old woman to marry a 30-year old man. But, more likely, it is the 16 to 19 year olds who are observing these courtship rituals, keeping a distance of a yard or a meter or more, careful not to be observed. Couples who have a few extra pesos in their pockets will catch a late afternoon bus to Oaxaca city to take in a movie or stroll around the Zocalo – the beautiful colonial central square — careful to return home by 8:00 p.m. If a girl comes back later, say at 10:00-11:00 p.m., then it’s probable that the boy has already talked to her parents for courtship and marriage approval. In this case, the man would go to his girlfriend’s parents, propose marriage and then the parents could approve or not. The wedding date will be set in the next three to four months and they will get married. (I’m using “man and woman” and “girl and boy” interchangeably, most notably because courtship sometimes begins at age 14 or 15 with marriage following shortly thereafter.)

What if the parents do not approve? The couple usually decides to continue their courtship in secret for a time and then the girl will suddenly disappear from her parent’s home and move into the boy’s house. This tradition is called, “stealing the girlfriend.” The village is all a-buzz when a girl disappears from her father’s home because everyone knows there’s something afoot. By the third day of the ‘disappearance,’ the man’s family – parents, uncles and aunts, cousins, grandparents – all go together to the girl’s home. They take with them a big, handmade beeswax candle that is made in the village and decorated with flowers. (The candle has to be big enough or the girl’s family may complain!) They also bring food, including bread, watermelon, bananas, and mangoes.

These gifts are presented to the girl’s parents in their altar room (the religious and social gathering place of each household) as a gesture from the boy’s family to alleviate the parent’s sadness of losing their daughter. The practice is called “a contentamiento.” This is both a dowry tradition and a way of asking forgiveness for taking their daughter without her parent’s permission. The practice helps build a bridge and begins a formal relationship between the two families. It is symbolic of the union of their children and acceptance of the boy as being worthy of the girl.

A cousin of Eric’s was studying international business at the university in Oaxaca. Her boyfriend was a professional musician living in Mexico City. They decided to do the “a contentamiento” and run away because they felt that going through the process of formal introductions would be too lengthy. They had been dating in secret for quite some time. On the third day they did the “a contentiamento.” Even though she was educated and “modern,” she decided to respect her Zapotec traditions.

Zapotecs have been living in the Oaxaca Valley for over 2,000 years. Their cultural traditions are strong and the people are resilient. The impact of television, education, movement across borders to work, and exposure to living in cities where jobs are more plentiful will have an impact on the traditions of courtship and marriage. How, remains to been seen.

Delight of winter warmth,

carved stones from an ancient culture

supporting the Dominican Catholic church,

rusty red coiled bedspring fence,

hot pink bougainvilleas framing arched entries,

braying donkeys — a wake-up call, cobblestones under foot,

the sentinel mount Picacho, looms, dye pots,

cauldrons of fresh hot chocolate, pollo con mole,

Samburguesa’s tacos, Anita’s nieves,

daily market hubbub, abuelas adorned in aprons

and braids, guacalotes gurgling and clucking,

a basketball court at the end of Avenida Juarez ,

hanks of freshly dyed yarn

drying on a wood fence, children in uniform

off to school, coffee at the Sacred Bean, a farmer

leading his bull to pasture, bedspring fence,

faded black mourning ribbon above the doorway,

green quinciniera bouquet, health message graffiti,

un poquito mezcal in teeny green cups, urns of

lilies on the home altar, maize growing in the church

courtyard, aged fife player leading the

marching band, whirling July dancers with feathered

plumes, beeswax candles made by hand,

cat curled in the window box, gnarled hands forming

tamales, songs at Sunday mass, grecas carved

in 2,000 year old stone, hard work, family

celebrations, vintage bus to Benito Juarez painted verdant

mountain adornment, waiting for tourists, life goes on.