The state of Michoacán,
located in central Mexico, is home to the Tarascan people or
Purépecha,
as they call themselves, and their unique language is unrelated
to any other in the world. Centuries ago, the Aztecs were unsuccessful
in their attempts to conquer the Tarascan empire.
The following is excerpted from the
essay by © Janet Brody
Esser, “Those Who Are Not From Here : Blackman Dances of
Michoacán”, in Behind the Mask in Mexico,
editor Janet Brody Esser; Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe,
New Mexico, 1988; p.107, pp.122-123 & 116-117
For her kind permission
to use excerpts from her essay, the Castañeda Museum thanks
Dr. Esser, Emeritus Professor of Latin American Art History and
Emeritus Associate Director, Center for Latin American Studies,
San Diego State University, and Chair, Latin American Arts Committee,
San Diego Museum of Art. The photos and their descriptions have
been provided by Gayle Castañeda
of the Castañeda Museum.
INTRODUCTION
Blackmen are known in the
Tarascan language as turía or turíacha,
which is said by some Tarascans also to mean principal beings
who control the air. While the Tarascan word
turí means “black”, it also has
the implication of catrín (elegant, urbane). Acha means “man” or “lord” and acha
turí , although literally “black lord”, is translated
into Spanish as hombre que no es indígena, that is to say, a
non-Indian. When speaking Spanish, the Blackman characters are referred to
as negros or
negritos by Tarascans and non-Tarascans alike. The diminutive form (negrito)
connotes the affection or familiarity felt toward Blackmen, rather than referring
to their physical size; in fact, Blackmen are usually danced by grown men whose
headdresses contribute additional height.
THE ROLE OF BLACK AFRICANS IN COLONIAL MEXICO
Tarascan villagers and
barrio dwellers clearly invest a good deal of wealth and talent
in producing dances of Blackmen. What can the motivation be for
so much effort in a region where there are few, if any, persons
identifiable as black? Surprisingly, research indicates that
there were sizeable populations of blacks residing on the fringes
of the Tarascan area all during the viceregal epoch. Blacks labored
in numerous occupations, many of these requiring skill and even
exercise of authority over the Indians. Tarascans worked with
blacks and served under black command. They experienced blacks
during the Colonial period as stewards, builders, traders, tailors,
artisans, cowboys, and soldiers, because those indeed were some
of the capacities in which black Africans served the New World.
It is my contention that these experiences fused with Tarascan
pre-Columbian religious imagery to produce the mythic Blackman
of contemporary Tarascan dances.
During the three centuries
of the Spanish viceroyalty, at least 250,000 African slaves
were introduced into Mexico (Aguirre Beltrán
1952: 162). As the indigenous population sickened and died from
the twin scourges of harsh treatment and Old World viral diseases,
Africans were imported in greater numbers. In addition to the
manual skills Africans brought with them from their homeland,
they also brought a talent for political organization, which
they employed in the many palenques (settlements) they
founded as cimarrones (insurgent slaves). They also brought
with them a love of pageantry drawn from their own rich ceremonial
past. Black brotherhoods dedicated to the Virgin Mary flourished
throughout Mexico and were famous for their use of elegant and
exotic costumes.
In towns and cities occupied
by Spaniards, of which a number were located in Michoacán,
blacks worked as artisans, tradesmen, and especially as servants
of the wealthy, who dressed them in extravagant livery. The imagery
that emerges from contemporary Tarascan dances of Blackmen -
footmen to the image of the Holy Child, custodians of richly
dressed children, overseers of Chichimecas, smartly attired
devotees of the Virgin, exotic foreigners - all derive from actual
events experienced by Tarascans in the Colonial epoch.
THE BLACKMAN/NEGRITO CHARACTER OF URUAPAN, MICHOACÁN
Blackmen dance on the day
of the patron saint of the participating barrios, at present
including San Juan Quemada, San Miguel, and La Magdalena, and
in the barrio of La Magdalena, Blackmen also accompany the Dance
of the Children. Blackman/Negrito masks of Uruapan are distinctive
with their high cheekbones, large aquiline noses, and carved,
twisted, and forked beards. Masks are painted with black lacquer,
an indigenous technique for which Uruapan is justly famous. Attached
to the masks are headdresses made of black, curly lambskins hanging
almost to the waist. At the juncture of fur and mask, long, broad
ribbons of several colors are stretched with strands of silver
and gold tinsel along the sides. Mirrors set into gilded cardboard
stars, cloth flowers, ribbon rosettes, and strands of paste beads
cover the top of the head. The Blackmen wear red cummerbunds,
with long sashes and scarves of a diaphanous fabric across the
chest. Trousers are of white homespun cotton with wide bands
of embroidery at the lower edges. The black overtrousers are
trimmed with ribbon rosettes, mirrors, and braid. Shirts are
long sleeved and white. |
