Fish dancer and net (right) in the procession of trades; Corpus Christi, June 3, 1999.
Corpus Christi, depending on the date of Easter, falls late in May or in June. A complementary aspect of the fiesta is the Octava, which falls 8 days later. In spite of the obvious religious motifs of both of these days, more indigenous elements appear to remain than in any of the other major fiestas. Certainly these 2 days are the most amusing of the entire year from the standpoint of the spectator. Corpus Christi is the responsibility of Tzintzuntzan, while the Octava is primarily an affair of the Tarascans from La Vuelta. Most of the activity of both take place in the churchyard, though the organization is largely civil. A couple of weeks before Corpus the municipal president asks about half a dozen men from each profession, traditionally the yunteros, arrieros, huacaleros, and alfareros ("ox drivers," i.e. farmers, "muleteers," "crate-carriers," "potters") to accept temporary posts as cargueros with a view to organizing their activities in the fiesta. . . . The basic theme of both Corpus and the Octava is the representation of present and past ways of life, especially the latter (1948).
Normally [Tarascan] fishermen from Tarerio take part in the fiesta, bringing a new chinchorro net and a large fish painted on cloth. To music they dance in the atrium, surrounding with the net the men who carry the fish (1948).
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