Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Danza Del Venado

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican 
  • Residence: Los Angeles
  • Primary language: Spanish

Text:

A.E chose to inform me of an ancient dance from la Mayos, he has known the dance for as long as he can remember in the region of Sonora. It’s the dance that represents the native indigenous Mayos de Navojoa, Sonora. He learned to dance “El Danza Del Venado,” in primary school(elementary). Indigenous Mayos came and taught him, he recalls them speaking their dialect. He competed with other schools and won medals for the dance. A.E heavily emphasized the importance of the dance costume. The costume consists of: a bandana on the head of the person, and above that a real, dried head of a deer. there was another bandana covering the mouth, and a “ropon de manta” covering the body. A belt made of leather that had multiple “pezunas de venado” which in English means the little hooves of the deer. From the big toe, to the ankles up to the calves, there are “tenabaris” that make noise. It is important to note that they dance barefoot. In the dance, they hold “Bullis” that come from a tree and have seeds inside that make noise. This dance is often performed in festivals, one of them being Sabado de Gloria and el Dia de San Juan. The dance is performed by only one person representing “El Venado” and is accompanied by four people playing drums and other instruments while singing the song “El Vendo Baila” in the Mayo dialect. 

Analysis:

After interviewing A.E, I conducted some research to find out more about the origins of this cultural dance. El danza del venado originated in Sonora, Mexico and contains pre-hispanic origins. The Yaqui people started this ritualistic dance, however; since the Mayo people were close neighbors to the Yaqui, they also adopted this dance into their culture. For context, the Mayo Indian people were located in southern Sonora, and northern Sinaloa. The Yaqui Indians were located in southern Sonora as well. This deer dance is performed as a way of honoring the deer that is being hunted for the purpose of feeding the folk group. It is a way of paying tribute to the sacrifice being made, which is the deer. This dance form is a deeply cultural and historical form of ritual and festival entertainment. While in modern times it is used predominantly as a source of entertainment, historically El Danza del Venado was used as a form of respecting nature, especially after taking something(such as hunting a deer).

Folklorico Dance

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican
  • Residence: Los Angeles
  • Primary language: English/ Spanish

Text:

E.H has been dancing folklorico since she was six years old. She is a Mexican American college student who has found an important aspect of her identity through folklorico. She has been a part of GFUSC(Grupo Folklorico at USC) since freshman year. She has found that it has been a way of embracing her Purépecha heritage and culture. Her passion for folklorico has led her to learn more about the history of folklorico, the different dance forms that pertain to folklorico, and the way dancers have to dress. E.H now teaches folklorico to elementary students, while also educating them in different regions. E.H and Grupo Folklorico at USC practice different dances for several weeks in order to prepare for the grand performance towards the end of the semester. Throughout the semester, they also hold small performances at different events and festivals to show their appreciation for their culture. E.H is a dance instructor, and she makes sure to teach steps that pertain the specific region in order to maintain as much cultural originality as possible. E.H told me that not anyone can just go ahead and teach Folklorico, one must be educated on the history of the dance form and the different styles of dance it entails.

Analysis:

I hold a personal connection with folklorico, I also dance folklorico with GFUSC. I originally joined for the purpose of embracing my Mexican heritage and learning to dance such a beautiful art form. Through this club, I was able to learn different regions and their distinct styles of dance. Some of these include Sinaloa, Veracruz, Yucatan, Jalisco, etc. Each region has different steps and “vestuario,” or clothing. For example, Sinaloa holds more of the traditional folklorico elements in the dresses, they are very colorful and flowy dresses. Meanwhile, Yucatan has a more box-like structure in the dress, they are not flowy, and are typically a satin white with embroidered flowers. The songs are also picked out depending on the region they pertain to. Performing with other Hispanic and Latino students has allowed me and many others to find a home and community here at USC. 

Quinceanera Celebration

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican 
  • Residence: Los Angeles 
  • Primary language: English and Spanish 

Text:

E.S said, “In my culture, once a young girl turns 15 they have a big party that could be considered a rite of passage, it’s called a Quinceanera.” This party is meant to symbolize the transition from a young girl to a woman. In the party there are multiple traditional processes that really resemble that of a wedding. As E.S explained, you start with mass at a church, then at the party you have the father daughter dance, the taking off of the shoes and into heels, etc. In some parties, they’re given this porcelain doll that represents or encapsulates their childhood, and at the end they have a surprise dance that’s very entertaining. The quinces in Mexico are somewhat different from the fact that as they move from the church to the reception, the whole group/family parade through the street with a live mariachi to the venue. Sometimes the quinceanera is in a carriage or on a horse. The invite is also not very exclusive as the whole community is invited. E.S recalls one time she attended a Quince, “I once went to a quince in Mexico where we didn’t know anyone, we were complete strangers and they still fed us and treated us like family.” The party allows for community bonding and the celebration of womanhood!

Analysis:

I deeply resonated with E.S’s relation to Quinceaneras because it is a well known tradition and celebration in my culture as well. Quinceaneras are indeed a rite of passage because the whole purpose of the celebration is to acknowledge the young girl’s transition from that into womanhood. Since I was a child, I attended various Quinceaneras from family members and acquaintances. I agree with E.S in the fact that the celebration is pretty welcoming to everyone, even if you aren’t directly related to the young girl being celebrated. I also vividly remember the surprise dances at these Quinceaneras, and they are indeed one of the parts of the celebration everyone looks forward to seeing the most. The Quinceanera does the surprise dance with her Corte de Honor, which consists of Chambelanes and Damas. The father and daughter dance is very special, and it usually makes a lot of people very emotional. While this celebration is very fun, it is also deeply sentimental for everyone because the now young woman is no longer a little girl.

New Years Traditions

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican 
  • Residence: Los Angeles 
  • Primary language: English and Spanish 

Text:

E.S recalls living in a Mexican household, specifically every year when New Years came around. She says, “We have these certain rituals or traditions to ensure that we have a fresh start and a clean slate for the new year.” Some of these traditions include:

  • We wear red underwear to symbolize good luck 
  • We eat 12 grapes each for every month of the year, with every grape that we eat we make a wish or another word to describe it would be a resolution and this happens as fast as you can once the clock strikes 12
  • We also do a deep clean of the entire house either the day of or the day after New Years, we take out old clothes, rearrange furniture, put new curtains, regular cleaning 
  • E.S told me that these traditions are upheld to obtain the most luck possible to have a great year. 

Analysis:

The New Year is a significant time for everyone, regardless of where you are in the world. Every region celebrates New Years in their own way when the clock hits twelve. I also have grown up in a Mexican household, and there was lots of resemblance between the traditions of E.S’s family and mine. For example, my family also eats the 12 grapes, and each one has its own wish or resolution for the upcoming year. We wait till it’s New Years to eat them and make our wishes. Another tradition my family has is that we like to wish each other a Happy New Year and we embrace each other with hugs and kisses. I believe that we all hold and cherish our New Year’s traditions because we all hope for a better year. New Years can also be considered an opportunity for change in our lives and aspirations.

Indian Wedding Ritual: Sisters Demanding Money

Context: The informant, AV, is an 18 year old student with parents who immigrated from India, specifically Gujarat. She’s been to multiple weddings in India, and observed this at her first cousin’s wedding. She remembers being somewhere around 5th grade-aged, and so she recounted what she remembered, with a general explanation. She doesn’t know if this is an Indian ritual or just a Gujarati one.

Text: AV said “When our cousin got married, he didn’t have any sisters, so me and my sister stood in front of his horse and didn’t let him through until he promised us money and silver chains. We were really young so I don’t remember it as well, but I remember it happening” and explained that essentially, when either your brother or a close cousin who has no sisters is getting married, you’re supposed to stop them from going into the wedding. They usually enter on a horse or in a car and they’re meant to walk into the venue, but before they can, you physically get in front of the horse/car, stop him, and tell him he’s not allowed to pass. He then is supposed to bargain, offering you money or gold or silver to let him pass. When it’s enough, you let him pass — usually now, it’s ritualized in the way that you push back like three times and on the second or third time you let them through.

Analysis: This ritual feels somewhat similar to the pranks traditionally played on couples during weddings, as a way of disrupting that liminality, except it’s specific to the groom and his side of the family. It’s a ritual for the groom to also leave the family; as the groom goes to the bride, the sisters will no longer be the most important women in his life, and they cede that position in a joking ritual that requires the groom to bribe them, proving how much he wants the bride. It’s a wedding ritual that rearranges the structure of the families that will be combining, and visually reorders the groom’s priorities. For the sisters, it’s also a form of letting their brother go, knowing that their relationships will fundamentally change, but disrupting that transition with this joking ritual.