Ritual Kinship, Volume II: Ideological and Structural Integration of the Compadrazgo System in Rural Tlaxcala

by Hugo Gino Nutini

Overview

This sequel to the first volume of Ritual Kinship (Princeton, 1980) completes a comprehensive account of one of the most pervasive and significant of Latin American institutions. Volume II examines the permanent dimensions of the compadrazgo system and its role in the organization of local society.

Originally published in 1984.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691640549
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #756
Pages:	522
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.70(d)

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Ritual Kinship

Ideological and Structural Integration of the Compadrazgo System in Rural Tlaxcala Volume II

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By Hugo G. Nutini

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1984 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-10144-6

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CHAPTER 1

The Sacred Nature of Compadrazgo in Belén and the Characteristics of the Mediating Entity

Ritual Kinship I described and analyzed the compadrazgo system of Santa María Belén and rural Tlaxcala (see map 1) in its regional (Part Two) and historical (Part Three) contexts, and it dealt structurally with the mechanisms of recruitment, selection, and initially associated constraints (Chapters Seven and Eight). It is now time to analyze the main attributes and domains that structure this subsystem within the context of Belén culture and society. The first such complex that comes to mind is the nature of the compadrazgo system, and what this means structurally and operationally. (Once again I must remind the reader that, although the analysis is centered on Belén, it applies equally to most of rural Tlaxcala, that is, to all traditional and transitional communities which constitute more than 70 percent of the total population of the state.)

The Social Meaning of Sacredness

Beleños regard both the institution of compadrazgo and the obligation to discharge its various types as sacred to themselves and to the community as a whole. The key term here is "sacred." The concept of sacredness does not have primarily a religious meaning; just as important is its social meaning, for it acquires specific significance within the sociomoral context of individuals in action. To say that compadrazgo is a sacred institution means largely that, because it acts as an imperative to social action, Beleños must comply with its constraints and directives in order not to break the continuity of the sociomoral order and bring down upon themselves natural and supernatural sanctions. The concept of sacredness is closely tied to religion insofar as compadrazgo is an institution with a large religious component, but the institution per se also partakes in considerable measure of the supernatural aspects of religion and rests upon the same ideological foundation. Hence Beleños are structurally compelled to enter the compadrazgo system either as active initiators or passive actors in a complex network of socioreligious events in the community's life and ceremonial cycle.

The sacred ideology of the compadrazgo system is well attested to by a sizable complex of legends and quasi-myths in which the central theme deals with the consequences of failing to comply with the requirements of the compadrazgo system. It is not surprising, then, that Beleños seldom refuse to enter into a compadrazgo relationship when they are asked to (the only notable exception being marriage compadrazgo because of the años noviciados or dangerous years; see Ritual Kinship I, pages 75–77), even for the types that, within the system itself, are not necessarily prescriptive. However, the sacredness of the compadrazgo system, which I have construed as an institution belonging to the moral-supernatural order with certain sanctions and rewards, refers to the system as an abstract and general entity and not to specific types or instances of it. The sacred nature of compadrazgo — the activation of the social or supernatural order as an object of reward and punishment — comes into play when an individual or group of individuals is drawn into a compadrazgo network by being asked to enter into a compadrazgo relationship. Once the main ritual and ceremonial events have been properly conducted, we can say that the specific actors have complied with the sacred prescription of the compadrazgo system. What happens afterward may or may not fall within the sacred nature of the system, depending mainly on the prescriptive or preferential nature of the compadrazgo type, as can be seen in the description of the various postritual behavior patterns associated with the thirty-one types in Belén. The sacred nature of compadrazgo in Belén was most clearly expressed by one of my informants when he said that "above and beyond personal feelings and sentiments there exists the permanent and unchanging bond of being compadres, and the physical and moral obligation to respect that bond. It is because of this sacred relationship that compadres must trust [tenerse confianza] and respect [respetarse] each other, and treat each other ceremoniously and without using the familiar tu [tutearse]." This attitude is shared by most Beleños, and this is one of the main reasons that the compadrazgo system has continued to function more or less traditionally despite ever-increasing contact with the outside world and strong social and economic pressures against it.

The sacred nature of compadrazgo may best be characterized as the ideology that shapes the structural matrix of the institution, as well as actual statistical discharge. Two things must be mentioned in this connection. First, the ideology of compadrazgo has an important diachronic component (see Part Three of Ritual Kinship I). It is evident that the manner and circumstances in which the compadrazgo system (basically of European origin) was internalized by the Indian population of Tlaxcala, and the resultant syncretic institution, have much to do with its ideology, which developed as a process of action and reaction vis-à-vis other social and religious elements of Indian culture and within the changing social structure of Indian communities for more than 300 years. A second synchronic point, perhaps more relevant, is that the ideology of the compadrazgo system extends beyond its sacred character and is related to the concepts of confianza (trust), respeto (respect), and reliability. These, however, are primarily expressed in a structural form, and are dealt with separately.

Choice, Acceptance, and Compadrazgo Sacredness

The compadrazgo system is regulated by two interrelated principles, namely, that one should not refuse to enter into a compadrazgo relationship of any kind, and that one always asks people who one knows in advance will accept. The first is made operationally meaningful by the sacred nature of compadrazgo per se. The second, however, can be made operational as a structural principle only by determining how it is discharged: we must determine how people know what is proper and socially adequate in entering into a compadrazgo relationship. In its broader aspects this question has been answered in Chapters Seven and Eight of Ritual Kinship I, which deal with the structure of compadrazgo choice and the social, religious, and economic statuses of primary actors, by describing the range of choices available to the individual. But it remains to ascertain the social mechanisms and immediate actions employed by individuals or groups in actualizing a given choice and ensuring that it has social and religious acceptability.

The structure of compadrazgo choice presents Beleños with a series of alternatives. This context we must regard as the most primitive substratum determining how, with whom, and under what circumstance individuals will enter the system. At a more immediate level we have a second set of constraints which determine whom one can ask to enter into a compadrazgo relationship, and under what circumstances. These are related primarily to the general social and religious positions and characteristics of prospective candidates. Thus, beyond the most primitive substratum, the average Beleño is presented with at least one, and most often several, individuals who may comply with the cultural and ideological requirements for an adequate compadre, but the final decision is governed by the more immediate set of constraints. It must be noted, however, that considerations that are inherently part of the structure of the compadrazgo system (e.g., the age of compadres, the specific qualifications for each compadrazgo type, the specific positions of prospective compadres in the life cycle) have been held constant here. In a sense, these would constitute a third — and the most superficial — set of structural constraints in the operation of the system. (I have discussed this point in the description of each compadrazgo type, and the information is synthesized in the chapters on the developmental cycle of the compadrazgo system; see Part One of Ritual Kinship I.)

To qualify for entering into a compadrazgo relationship, a Beleño must be in good social and religious standing in the community, in the sense of complying with the culturally determined norms that regulate its social and religious structure. Prospective compadres must possess certain important social and religious attributes if a successful compadrazgo relationship is to be established (see Chapter Seven of Ritual Kinship I). To a large extent this is an idealization, for it is never entirely possible to have all the attributes, so two qualifications must be specified. First, these requirements are less likely to apply to compadres chosen from outside the community, and the Beleños themselves tend to be much more lax about looking for desirable attributes. Second, even in the case of endogamous choice, few if any prospective compadres have all the desirable attributes, and Beleños have a definite set of priorities: social considerations always come before religious ones; it is always more important, say, to be properly married or to be a good family man than to be pious or to be a man who properly fulfills his communal religious obligations. In any event, all these constraints play a definite and important role in the structure of compadrazgo choice at this second level, and the people of Belén carefully weigh and consider all the possibilities and alternatives whenever they engage in a compadrazgo relationship. From this viewpoint, and given definite ends in view, the compadrazgo system in Belén is definitely rational.

It remains to determine how people decide, in the face of a series of alternatives, whether a given individual will willingly agree to become a compadre. The average Beleño knows that even if he asks a person with whom he is not on particularly good social terms to enter into a compadrazgo relationship, that person must accept the invitation or risk the social disapproval and perhaps outright antagonism of the community. Even today, when the compadrazgo system is beginning to depart from its traditional ideological matrix, very few people would dare contravene this social imperative. The matter, then, is largely a question of etiquette: whom does one ask to enter into a compadrazgo relationship so that a minimum of immediate negative feelings are incurred. Even people well disposed toward contracting a compadrazgo relationship may find it temporarily impossible for social or economic reasons, so the Beléno needs to know in advance whether a prospective compadre can agree to enter into the relationship without undue social or economic hardship. He must therefore obtain the following information: is his prospective compadre in reasonable economic shape for the forthcoming compadrazgo activities; does he have other economic compromises (obligations) that will interfere with his compadrazgo obligations; is he in good standing with his immediate and extended family so that they will not object to his accepting the compadrazgo; are there any social reasons such as mourning, a death in the family, illness, or other impending social compromisos that could seriously interfere with the proper conduct of the compadrazgo relationship; and so on?

It is on the basis of this information that Beleños finally decide whom they should ask to enter into a compadrazgo relationship. Such information is not difficult to gather in such a small community, for most of the social and economic affairs of the average famiy are well known to the people at large. When in doubt as to this information, or about any deep-seated, negative feelings that friends or neighbors may have, Beleños try to assess the situation by using friends and relatives as intermediaries to sound out the prospective compadres. This method never fails, and the etiquette of this aspect of the compadrazgo system is complied with scrupulously, thereby averting many unpleasant situations. This aspect of the system applies perhaps exclusively to endogamous compadrazgo, for in cases of exogamous compadrazgo, informants unanimously agreed, Beleños do not hesitate to risk a refusal, thereby recognizing that people from outside the community (especially those in urban areas) are probably not bound by an ideology that does not permit refusal. With respect to endogamous compadrazgo, we must point out that the modus operandi described here does not apply in the same fashion to all compadrazgo types, and that there is a definite gradation of compliance with its requirements. The more important the compadrazgo relationship, both structurally and ideologically, the more carefully will people comply with the requisites. For example, in the case of important types like baptism, marriage, or PCE, those who select the compadres take great pains to determine their adequacy and their ability to accept; the selection is much less rigorous in less important types such as graduation, FC, or aretes; and preliminary investigation is nonexistent in such a minor type as compadrazgo de amistad. Furthermore, it is important to note that considerations of adequacy and ability to accept are perhaps even more important in public-communal compadrazgo types, inasmuch as the entire community, at least theoretically, has a voice in the selection of compadres for these types. In summary, one of the main reasons selection functions smoothly in the compadrazgo system in Belén is that the people are willing to comply with the etiquette that prospective compadres must only be asked under optimum circumstances.

The Mediating Entity: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

Compadrazgo relationships come into being through the link of a mediating entity, be it a person, an image, an object, or an occasion, and while this link is necessary to the structure of compadrazgo, it is not of primary importance to its functioning. Many ethnographic studies have overemphasized the importance of the mediating link to the detriment of the broader structural extensions of the compadrazgo system. Historically, it is true that the compadrazgo system was based on the parent-godson-godparent triad, but synchronically it represents a much broader structural context (see Part Three of Ritual Kinship I). The primary function of the mediating link is to serve as the immediate, ostensible motive for establishing a compadrazgo relationship, but it sinks into comparative or total unimportance after the central ritual and ceremonial complex has been completed.

One reason for the overemphasis on the mediating entity has been confusion between the necessary and sufficient conditions that shape a social unit or institution. The historical antecedents of the compadrazgo system have led many anthropologists to confuse the necessary and sufficient conditions of the synchronic situation. When the compadrazgo system was introduced to the New World in the first half of the sixteenth century only persons were mediating entities, and at that time the mediating entity was not only the system's central, primary element, but its necessary and sufficient condition as well. This is no longer true today. Ahijados may still be a necessary condition for the compadrazgo system, but they are not a sufficient condition, for the system now includes such a variety of mediating entities that the concept of ahijados no longer suffices by itself. There are as many compadrazgo types today as there are occasions in the life and ceremonial cycles that people wish to make important by contracting ritual kinship ties.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Ritual Kinship by Hugo G. Nutini. Copyright © 1984 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. v
• List of Figures, pg. vii
• List of Tables, pg. ix
• Abbreviations, pg. xi
• Preface, pg. xiii
• Introduction, pg. 1
• Map, pg. 18
• CHAPTER 1. The Sacred Nature of Compadrazgo in Belen and the Characteristics of the Mediating Entity, pg. 19
• CHAPTER 2. The Personnel of the Compadrazgo System, pg. 32
• CHAPTER 3. The Structural Implications of Asking and Being Asked to Enter into a Compadrazgo Relationship, pg. 68
• CHAPTER 4. Confianza, Respeto, and Reliance, pg. 75
• CHAPTER 5. The Preferential and Prescriptive Structure of Compadrazgo, pg. 100
• CHAPTER 6. The Structural Implications of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Compadrazgo Relationships, pg. 129
• CHAPTER 7. The Permanent and Temporary Dimensions of Compadrazgo Relationships, pg. 143
• CHAPTER 8. The Structural and Functional Implications of Interchangeable Compadrazgo Types, pg. 152
• CHAPTER 9. The Structural Articulation and Ritual-Symbolic Nature of Public-Communal Compadrazgo Types, pg. 160
• CHAPTER 10. The Conscious and Unconscious Nature of Compadrazgo and the Absolute and Relative Importance of Compadrazgo Types, pg. 172
• CHAPTER 11. Ritual Kinship Terminology, pg. 181
• CHAPTER 12 .Ritual Kinship Behavior, pg. 203
• CHAPTER 13. The Egocentric Developmental Cycle of Compadrazgo, pg. 238
• CHAPTER 14. The Exocentric Developmental Cycle of Compadrazgo, pg. 285
• CHAPTER 15. The Political, Economic, and Demographic Functions of Compadrazgo, pg. 313
• CHAPTER 16. The Religious and Social Functions of Compadrazgo, pg. 337
• CHAPTER 17. The Magico-Symbolic Functions of Compadrazgo, pg. 367
• Conclusions, pg. 400
• Appendix: The Epistemological and Ontological Foundations of the Analytical Framework, pg. 419
• Notes, pg. 463
• Glossary, pg. 483
• References Cited, pg. 487
• Index, pg. 493