Etzatlán Adventure Part 5: The Shaft Tomb People

Display of Shaft Tomb contents in Etzatlán's Centro Cultural museum. Skeletons with typical grave goods are among the displays in this little gem of a museum. Most of the artifacts in the museum were recovered from grave sites called Tumbas de Tiro, or Shaft Tombs. One of most important of these tombs was found in 1955 on the former lands of the ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian (see Part 4 of this series). This posting, and the two that follow, will focus on three successive pre-hispanic cultures. The people of these cultures inhabited the area in and around Etzatlán beginning more than 2000 years before the Spanish arrived in 1524. There were other cultures in the area during that time, but these are the ones that left the most accessible traces, including tombs, pyramids, and palaces.

Shaft Tombs have been found in three of Mexico's western states. They lie in an arc extending from Colima in the south, up through the Lake Chapala area in Jalisco, and over to coastal Nayarit. The tombs are often found in groups, including as many 50 in a site. Using scientific measuring techniques, including radiocarbon dating, archaeologists have placed some of the tombs as early as 400 BC and others to as late as 600 AD. This 1200 year time frame stretches from the end of the Olmec era to the fall of Teotihuacan. In European terms, it spans the time between Classical Greece and the beginning of the Dark Ages. According to "Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico", published jointly by the Los Angeles Museum of Art and the University of New Mexico Press, Western Mexico's Shaft Tombs are unique in ancient Mesoamerica. 

El Centro Cultural

Statues of two Great White Herons grace the fountain in the Centro's courtyard. The museum is only one part of the Centro Cultural. Other parts include offices, an auditorium for lectures and performances,  and a display of more modern artifacts from the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Live versions of the herons can be found wading and fishing in Lago de Magdalena, just west of Etzatlán (see Part 2). The museum is located in the Centro Cultural on Calle Escobedo, about a block east of the Presidencia Municipal (City Hall), and just around the corner from the Plaza Armas (also called Plaza Escobedo).

A small cannon sits next to the fountain in the courtyard. At first I thought it was a remnant of some 19th Century conflict. However, Sr. Carlos E. Parra Ron, our guide, told us that it was used to shoot up fireworks in fiestas during the old days. Sr. Carlos works at the Centro Cultural and is Etzatlán's official historian. The city provided his services as a guide for our party of 12 foreign visitors, as well as English-speaking translators since Sr. Carlos speaks only Spanish. To our astonishment, all this came free of charge. However, we tipped everyone generously for their hard work.


The ancient people: funerals and tombs

An ancient funeral procession. A corpse is carried on an elaborate palanquin by pall bearers accompanied by a small, four-legged armadillo-like creature. No one knows what these people called themselves, and almost the only traces left of their presence in the area are the contents of the Shaft Tombs. However, those contents provide us with a remarkable picture of how the people saw themselves, and how they conducted their daily lives. Unlike many other famous cultures of Mexico's ancient past, these people did not focus their sculptural efforts on gods, kings, and the nobility. Instead, their creations reveal the day-to-day activities of ordinary people. They show how they dressed and adorned themselves, and how they lived and interacted with one another, including funerary rites like those seen above.

Another of the museum's tomb displays. Found with the skeleton were numerous objects from daily life, such as a stone mano and metate for grinding corn and other seeds, seen at the upper left. Virtually identical manos and metates can be found in many small-town hardware stores in Mexico. These are sold as normal household utensils for the kitchen. I am amazed that this Neolithic technology is still in daily use, more than 5,000 years after it was invented. Also shown are various pots and dishes, a selection of obsidian cutting tools, and some small animal sculptures.

Design of a Shaft Tomb found near Etzatlán. As with most such tombs it was built with a vertical shaft (hence the name) cut down through volcanic tuff called tepetate. The depths of the shafts from the surface range from 4.6 meters (15 ft.) to more than 15 meters (50 ft.), and the number of chambers range from 1 to 5. The depth is particularly impressive given that the only digging tools available were sharpened sticks, rocks, and animal bones. In the tomb shown above, there are three large compartments connected by tunnels. After a burial, the shaft would be filled in up to the surface, and covered by a stone slab. At some shaft tombs, remnants of what may have been shrines were found covering the surface entrance. The Shaft Tomb found at ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian is about 7 kilometers (4.3 mi.) from Etzatlán and lies 16 meters (52 ft.) below the surface. The tomb chamber is 4.2 X 3.9 meters (14 ft. X 12.8 ft.) and is tall enough that a man could walk upright in it. (Design above from "Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico").

Skeleton of a child, found with one of the adult skeletons. The shaft tombs often contained more than one burial. Whether the tombs were periodically reopened for further burials is a matter of dispute among archaeologists. Sometimes a shaft tomb will have multiple chambers. Unfortunately, most have been thoroughly looted and the contents sold to collectors. Some of these collections are in Mexican museums, but many ended up in private collections in foreign countries. Because of the looting, it is difficult to establish time frames and contexts, and much of what we know about the Shaft Tomb people is limited by this. Ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian's Shaft Tomb contained the bones of nine adults (2 males and 7 females). In addition, the remains of 2 fetuses were uncovered, as well as a substantial amount of grave goods. The tomb was built somewhere between 100 BC and 100 AD, roughly the time of Julius Caesar and the life of Christ. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, visitors are no longer allowed to enter the tomb, but the museum does a good job in portraying its contents.

Burial arrangement of a Shaft Tomb in Nayarit. The vertical shaft represented by the square on the right is connected to the burial chamber on the left by a short tunnel. The bodies were arranged with their heads to the walls and their feet to the center of the chamber, like the spokes of a wheel. Remains of children were deposited in small piles. (Design from "Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico")

The people who built the shaft tombs

Seated warrior from Shaft Tomb near Etzatlán. The warrior wears a crested helmet, possibly of wood or wicker. Around his body he wears wicker armor, shaped like a cylinder. In his hands he brandishes a club or a short spear. A large replica of this warrior stands guard over the entrance road to Etzatlán from Highway 4. The stance, weapon and armor of the warrior are similar to many found through out the area of the Shaft Tombs. The number of warrior figures found, and the level to which they were armed and armored, indicates that this period in Western Mexico was not entirely peaceful.

"Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast." In addition to savage warriors, the museum displays figures playing a variety of musical instruments. One of these is the drummer shown above, seated with his instrument between his knees. He wears a crossed headband and multiple ear rings in each ear. Interestingly, the 1697 quote from William Congreave in "The Mourning Bride" speaks of the death of a king and his entombment. Some collections of tomb musicians I have seen could easily be mistaken for a modern jazz combo, with drummers, trumpets, and flutes. 

Two more seated figures, male on the left and female on the right. The male wears the crossed head band so often found on both sexes. He also has the long face, straight nose, and somewhat bulbous almond-shaped eyes that are typical of the features of tomb figures. Another interesting aspect is the seated posture. I have seen many Shaft Tomb figures in the Regional Museum of Guadalajara, and other museums in Mexico City, Puebla, and Colima. A very large proportion of these are seated singly, and sometimes as male-female couples. The couples are often shown cuddling a child or a pet dog. In many cases, one person's arm is draped affectionately around the other, providing a sense of humanity that easily crosses the centuries. Even the warriors are seated, although generally portrayed as alert and ready for battle. The reason that so many are in a seated posture is a mystery to me.

Female figure with typical shoulder decorations. The pattern of bumps seen on the shoulders of this figure marks it as a Western Mexico Shaft Tomb statue. The shoulder bumps are very commonly found on both male and female statues and appear to be for decorative purposes. At first I thought they were part of the material worn on the upper body. Later I found out that they are actually polished pieces of oval-shaped stone inserted under the skin as body decoration. This might seem remarkable, but viewers should remember the various methods of modern plastic surgery such as liposuction and breast enlargement. In every era, people do astonishing things in an effort to "enhance" their beauty.

Grave goods 

Obsidian core and flakes. Obsidian--volcanic glass--was an important natural resource for the production of tools, weapons, and jewelry. The possession of large deposits of obsidian in one's territory was the ancient equivalent of deposits of oil to modern societies. The area covered by the Shaft Tombs is highly volcanic and thick with obsidian deposits. The Tequla Volcano dominates the landscape of the area around Etzatlán, and there are numerous smaller cinder cones and lava fields everywhere. Obsidian glass is easily worked and can be brought to an edge sharper than modern surgical instruments.

Shells indicate an active trade network that included links to the Pacific Coast. Shells were used as tools, jewelry and other decorations, and musical instruments. Conch shells, like the one seen above, were often used as trumpets for music or, as with a military bugle, for signaling. Often such conch shells would be incised with designs.

Figure of a cat with an open mouth. This may be a representation of a jaguar or a puma. Such large cats were seen as very powerful with connections both to the living and the underworld. Dogs are also very often found among Shaft Tomb grave goods. The famous ceramic Colima Dogs were viewed as representatives of Venus, the Morning Star, which was associated with death and rebirth. In addition, the personal dog of the deceased was often killed and buried with him to help guide him through the underworld. 

This completes Part 5 of my Etzatlán series. Next we'll take a look at the unique circular pyramids called the Guachimontanes, only a few miles to the east of Etzatlán. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. I encourage you to leave your thoughts in the section below marked Comments, or to send them directly to me by email.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Etzatlán Adventure Part 4: Ex-Hacienda San Sebastian

The Casa Grande of ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian just north of Etzatlán. The long porch, bounded by 14 arched portales, ends at the hacienda's white chapel with its lovely bell tower. Etzatlán lies in the heart the old hacienda country to the west of Guadalajara. To locate the hacienda on a Google map, click here. The turnoff from Highway 4 is a short distance west of Etzatlán, just before you come to Lake Magdalena, the small lake seen in Part 3 of this series. The property is now called Los Dos Hermanos, a rancho owned by a pair of brothers as the name implies. They are gradually restoring the Casa Grande (literally the "Big House"). I never met them during my two visits to the property, but they don't seem to mind the occasional visitor and their workmen were quite friendly on both my visits.


La Casa Grande

View of the Casa Grande from in front of the chapel. The old well in the foreground once produced water for the hacendado (hacienda owner) and his family. The Casa Grande sits on a slight rise, providing a vista of the valley to the east. I first learned of San Sebastian from "Quilocho and the Dancing Stars", a book about Quilocho Retolaza and the ballet stars he assisted in defending their gold claim in the mountains overlooking Ajijic. (See "La Rusa's Gold Mine".) In the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, Quilocho returned from his service in Pancho Villa's army and became a professional hacienda administrator. One place he worked was a hacienda near Ahualulco, a town a few miles east of Etzatlán. While there, he briefly courted the daughter of the owner of Hacienda de San Sebastian. Several nights a week, Quilocho would ride over from the hacienda he administered about 10 miles away. Sitting on his horse outside a barred window of San Sebastian's Casa Grande, he would respectfully converse with his intended bride. She remained inside, behind the bars, with an older female relative hovering in the background as a chaperone. Such were the traditional courtship practices of the very conservative society that populated Mexico's old haciendas.

La Casa Grande's main entrance. Two beautifully-carved double doorways, called "la finca grande" give admittance to a large foyer inside. While the long porch running the length of the Casa Grande might have been used to enjoy the view, the main focus of the house is the central courtyard behind la finca grande. In this, Hacienda de San Sebastian followed the pattern found in most of Mexico's haciendas, according to Carlos E. Parra Ron, Etzatlán's official historian. The Casa Grande is part of a cluster of structures called the casco (helmet). The name fits because the casco contains the nerve center of the whole operation. In addition to the Casa Grande's living areas, a casco would typically include the Capilla (chapel), the administrative offices, the Tienda de Raya (company store), the stables, and the huerta (the owner's personal garden/orchard). Nearby would be some small dwellings for the household staff, called peones acasillados because their housing was considered part of their pay.

A large moth appeared on the wooden doorway as we prepared to enter the Casa Grande. The wingspan was almost 6 inches and the color matched the wood so well that it looked like an intentional decoration until we realized it was alive. During the 16th-18th Centuries, haciendas were the basic economic and political units of Nueva Hispaña, and they continued in that role in the new nation of Mexico during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Prior to the Revolution, there were at least 470 haciendas in my home state of Jalisco. Today only about 120 have intact structures, but many of these now function as hotels, public buildings, orphanages, etc. A few still operate as large farms or ranches. The rest are in ruins.

Fountain in the center of the courtyard. The sculpture rising from the bowl of the fountain represents a cornstalk, with ripe ears protruding on all sides. Since pre-hispanic times, Mexico's most important food crop has been maiz (corn). Lush gardens surround the fountain, and most of the Casa Grande's rooms open onto this central area with access between them not by interior hallways, but by the exterior walkways around three sides of the courtyard. Behind the fourth wall, outside the Casa Grande, was the huerta.

An airy walkway along the east side of the courtyard. Just as the exterior porch is bounded by arched portales, so are the walkways. In all there are 27 such portales throughout the Casa Grande. Despite their beauty, haciendas like San Sebastian had a dark side. The hacendados ruled them like feudal barons. According to Sr. Carlos "their vanity made them believe they were demi-gods...they were little interested in the misery they created, and those who suffered the consequences were the poor people." There was a vast gap in wealth and social standing between the hacendado and his family and the peones who worked for them. Patios with flower gardens and artistic sculptures might be enjoyed by the owner, but the workers lived in squalid, one-room, dirt-floored huts. San Sebastian's records show that 400 peones worked there in 1903. For them, a day's work paid only .37 centavos from which they had to support not only themselves but their families. Most were not lucky enough to be peones acasillados with free huts, so they might well have to pay rent to the hacendado for the privilege of living in their hovels. Such was the structure which underlay the hacienda owner's sumptuous life.

The Casa Grande's dining room was filled with expensive furniture. In the early days, the furniture would have been made by the hacienda's own carpenters. As the wealth of owners grew, they began to import the latest furnishings from Europe. In rooms like this, they entertained their neighbors from other haciendas, as well as socially acceptable travelers who stopped overnight as they journeyed along the old Camino Real (Royal Road) between Guadalajara and the Pacific Coast port of San Blas. This lifestyle would have been impossible had the workers been free to seek better pay and working conditions. The hacendados solved this problem through a clever device created to bind their workers to the hacienda. The Tienda de Raya, or company store, was located within the casco under the hacendado's close supervision. It had a two-fold aim. The overt purpose was profit for the owner from selling basic food stuffs and other necessities to the workers. The markets of the town which sold similar but cheaper goods were a considerable distance away, so the markup could be high. The covert aim was to create debt among the low-paid workers. Encouraged to buy on credit, they often never saw any actual money for their hard work. The hacendado's records always seemed to show them in debt and whether the records were accurate or not, who was to say? The workers were generally illiterate and challenging the hacendado could be a risky business. If the worker tried to leave without clearing the debt, he would be brought back by the rurales (rural police) for severe punishment. At the end of a hard day, it was better to shrug one's shoulders and order another glass of tequila from the Tienda de Raya. Put it on the tab, por favor?


La Capilla

The Capilla was always closely adjacent to the casa grande of a hacienda. The society of Nueva Hispaña and 19th Century Mexico was deeply religious, particularly among the hacendado class. Above, the Capilla is attached to the north end of the Casa Grande, and is dedicated to San Sebastian Martir (St. Sebastian the Martyr). It can be entered either from a door opening onto the porch or from the yard. Unfortunately, both times I visited the doors were locked so I never got to see the inside. According to Sr. Carlos' book, the Capilla is entered through a huge old wooden door, with iron fixtures, including a door knocker and a lock, that are all equally antique. The wooden pulpit and choir area are also original. There is an attached sacristy where the priest could don his vestments. Above it all towers a campanario (bell tower) to call the faithful to worship.

Hacienda San Sebastian's capilla is an elegant little building. The front yard is shaded by trees and adorned with flower gardens. Through the centuries, the occasional priest or bishop stood up for the indigenous people and poor mestizos. However, the church as an institution was closely allied with the ruling classes. In fact, among the vast,  pre-Revolution holdings of the Church in Mexico were many haciendas. The physical proximity of the chapel to the boss' house is a graphic example of the political and social relationship between the two elites. If workers and the poor could be focused on the purported rewards and punishments of the next life, it would be easier to get them to stoically accept the hardships and inequities of this one.

The garden entrance to the Capilla. The framing of this doorway is in the neo-classical style popular in the mid-18th Century. While San Sebastian is close enough to Etzatlán that a priest could ride out to conduct services, if a hacienda was too remote, the priest might live in the Casa Grande. Although not directly an employee of the hacendado, such a priest would be unlikely go out of his way to offend his host by, for example, protesting the conditions of the workers. The hacendado would no doubt be on good terms with the local curate or bishop and could make it hot for such a wayward priest. There was also the example of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Castillo who, in 1811, was decapitated and his head hung from the walls of the Alhondigas in Guanajuato after he roused the poor to revolt against their oppressors at the beginning of the War of Independence. Significantly, prior to his execution, he was excommunicated by the Church.

The bell tower surmounting the Capilla served a double purpose. The bells of the campanario called the faithful to worship, but they also summoned the workers to their tasks in the morning. Later in the day, the bells alerted the hacienda's women to load mules with the food they had prepared for their men out in the fields. At the end of a long day, the bells again sounded, calling the men home. The large bell in the center was nicknamed La Gordera, after the men responsible for yanking the bell cord, called los gorderos. One of these men was known for ringing it before the mid-day food was fully loaded, causing the mule train to set off prematurely and the men in the fields to go hungry that day. Although he usually tried to blame the women for being tardy, he was still remembered bitterly by former peones 80 years after the hacienda was disbanded.

A beautiful palomino horse, saddled and ready, waits for its rider to return. Any self-respecting hacendado kept fine horses in his stable. Jalisco, and much of the rest of rural Mexico, has deep roots in the horse culture. Although some horses are kept by the wealthy for show, they are also considered to be vital working animals by ordinary rural Mexicans . A driver who ventures down any country road will soon encounter Mexican vaqueros herding cattle, or simply traveling from one place to another. Common sounds outside the window of my room where I write this blog include the clop, clop, clop of hooves on the cobble stone streets. One of Mexico's most cherished symbols is the Charro, mounted on a steed like the one above, and wearing his huge embroidered sombrero and silver disks down the side of his skin-tight pants. The old haciendas of Jalisco are where the Charro tradition originated, along with tequila and the mariachi band.


La Casa de Campo

La Casa de Campo, seen from the garden of the Capilla. La Casa de Campo (the Field House), was separate from the casco, but was also an important structure on a hacienda. Here the hacendado met with the peones to direct them on the coming day's work or get their reports from the fields at day's end. This was also where tools and equipment were stored. I was charmed to find beautifully arched portales gracing the front of such a utilitarian building. When I peeked inside, I found large tractors and the other mechanized farm equipment that greatly reduced the need for the hundreds of workers that used to assemble here. Since this hacienda's founding in the 17th Century, its economic focus has changed from time to time. However, maiz (corn) has been important throughout San Sebastian's history. Ground by hand in stone metates, it produced tortillas for the hacienda's workers, provided feed for the animals, and was sold in the markets of Etzatlán and elsewhere. According to Sr. Carlos' book, "Hacienda de San Sebastian", the most important crops in 1905 were--in order of value--maiz, beans such as guasano and frijol, barley, wheat, and potatoes.

Livestock was also important to the hacienda. Cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep were raised. Wool from sheep was an important source for revenue, according to the 1905 records. In this same pasture, I also encountered a goat. Cabrito, or baby goat, is a favorite dish in this part of the country. Early records also show that Hacienda de San Sebastian was well known for distilling and selling tequila as far back as the 17th Century. The drink gets its name from the small city of Tequila on the north side of the nearby Tequila Volcano. Only the liquor from the Blue Agave which is grown here, and fermented, distilled and bottled in this area can be called "tequila." The use of Blue Agave to produce an intoxicating drink goes far back into pre-hispanic times. The indigenous people originally drank pulque from fermented but undistilled Blue Agave. This ancient, mildly-intoxicating drink is still consumed in many rural areas, although beer has largely supplanted it in many places.

The setting of the hacienda is one of great beauty. San Sebastian lies in a lush valley, surrounded by the volcanic mountains seen in the background behind the Casa de Campo. In the foreground, the ever-present bougainvillea arches over a garden wall. The original 17th Century builder of the hacienda is unknown, but the Pachecho family, headed by Manuel Pacheco Calderón, became the owners in the mid-18th Century. He was from Santander, Spain, and the property he bought included 1000 hectares (2.47 thousand acres) of fertile land. At its peak, in the early 20th Century, the hacienda possessed almost 65,000 acres.


Plaza, pond, and workers' houses

A small plaza with a kiosco stands next to the Casa Grande. The plaza is at the south end of the Casa Grande, the opposite end from the Capilla. Here, the pre-Revolution peones would celebrate the many fiestas associated with saints days. Today, their still-poor-but-free campesino counterparts follow some of those same old traditions. In 1865, a hard-driving pair of brothers arrived in the area from Asturias, Spain. They were determined to make their fortune in the still-new nation of Mexico, and they succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Their names were Manuel Fernández del Valle, and his brother Justo. They married two of the daughters of Francisco Martínez Negrete, an important Mexican businessman. The brothers were low on capital, but these marriages allowed access to the funds they needed to start their empire, which ultimately included Hacienda de San Sebastian.

A stream was dammed to create a large pond with a ready water supply. The adobe ruins of an unknown structure stand watch over the hacienda's major water source. While we were there, a local boy and his girlfriend fished the pond with a hand-thrown net. The del Valle brothers bought textile factories, invested in railroads, bought mines, and started the Bank of Jalisco. They were among the founders of the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce. Everything they touched seemed to turn to gold. By 1914, they had acquired Hacienda de San Sebastian at a price of $350,000 pesos, an amount equivalent to several million of todays pesos. At the time, the primary focus of hacienda was livestock, but it was still producing quantities of maiz, frijol, and mezcal.

Homes of the old peones acasillados are now occupied by their campesino descendents. The adobe structures are small, but tidy with glass windows and flower gardens. In front of one, the pinto horse of the occupant grazed contentedly. The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) was a disaster for the hacendado class. Their peones rose up in vengeance for 400 years of oppression, often killing the hacienda owners. Their casas grandes were looted and 70% of Jalisco's haciendas were left in ruins. Lands were confiscated and distributed to the farm workers and their families. The surviving hacendados were often left with only a few of the casco buildings, if they retained anything at all. 

Three young vaqueros decided to give us a show. We were photographing the pond when I spotted them mounting up so they could deliberately ride through the middle of our shots. We were delighted at their casual expertise, and they obviously enjoyed the novelty of our presence. The property, called ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian after it was stripped of most of its lands, saw its casco buildings deteriorate as they passed through various hands. In 1994, Miguel and Silvestre Ramos Meza acquired the old casco buildings and enough land to create Rancho Dos Hermanos. Over the last 17 years they have slowly refurbished the Casa Grande and some of the other casco buildings, as well as the Casa de Campo. They are developing a functioning farm with the help of the workers living in what is now called simply San Sebastian. Ninety-eight people still live in the old peones' houses. They are evenly divided by sex and slightly less than half are children. The median amount of education among them is 6 years, but Rancho Dos Hermanos is rebuilding a ruined school, using community labor. Things are looking up.

This completes Part 4 of my series on Etzatlán. In Part 5, I will take you on a short tour of Etzatlán's small but excellent museum containing artifacts found in ancient tombs, including some found on the property of ex-Hacienda de San Sebastian. I hope you enjoyed this look at a beautiful old Mexican hacienda. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section below, or email me directly.

If you leave a question in the Comments section PLEASE leave your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Etzatlán Adventure Part 3: A tour of the colonial-era Parroquia and the Capuchina Convent

Templo de la Purisima Concepción. It is located on the northeast corner of Etzatlán's Plaza Antonio Escobedo, also known as Plaza de Armas. Construction on the original church on this site was begun in 1527, three years after the Spanish arrived. Like many other early churches it was built upon the foundations of an indigenous temple. La Purisima was constructed under the direction of Franciscan friars. They were the first Catholic religious order to evangelize the newly conquered people. La Purisima became the main church, or Parroquia, for the area. In a previous posting I displayed several more photos of the building's exterior. The church repeatedly played a part in Etzatlán's history. During the Reform War of the 1850s, a group of Federalists holed up in the steeples you see above and fired down upon their enemies, the Centralists, in the plaza below. Most of the Federalists were killed in the skirmish, but their action re-invigorated the Federalists' cause nationally, and they eventually won. During our first two visits, the church wasn't open, but on our third visit we got a formal tour of its interior, as well as that of the Capuchina Convent near the northwest corner of the plaza. In this posting, we'll take a closer look at both of these colonial-era treasures.

A divider with a bench adorns the street in front of La Purisima. The divider was created by a local craftsman who was one of the parishioners of the church. He implanted facing tiles along the sides and base in the shape of animals and other designs, creating a charming and comfortable place to sit in the shade of a tree and enjoy the activities of the plaza scene.

A worker cleans the bronze bust of one of the early Franciscans. Etzatlán's Centro Historico almost seems to glisten from the care taken by the local people. At least two of those whose busts are displayed were martyred during the 1540-1542 Mixtón War. This bloody affair was an indigenous revolt set off by the depredations of conquistador Nuño Beltran de Guzman and mistreatment under the Spanish-imposed encomienda system, a barely disguised form of slavery. The Franciscans were seen by some of the native people as part of that system because the granting of an encomienda to a conquistador required that--in return for the right to demand forced labor--the encomendero would also force the indigenous people to give up their traditional beliefs and be indoctrinated in Catholicism.

Interior of Templo de la Purisima Concepción. The blue and white draperies attached to the columns on the sides were put up as part of the fiesta celebrating the Virgin of Zapopan. This version of the Virgin Mary is highly venerated of Jalisco State and her devotees believe she answers prayers for protection against plagues, storms and other disasters. She was introduced into Mexico by Franciscan Antonio Segovia shortly after the Mixtón War. In later wars she earned the nickname La Generala because she was believed to have helped Spanish forces from Jalisco to win several battles.

The sweetness of Jesus. A statue of the crucified Jesus hangs high above the main altar. This is a very old figure, crafted in the 16th Century from sugar cane paste. The statue used to be taken down and paraded around town during fiestas, but it is so fragile now that it is not allowed outside the church. The substance from which the statue was made also indicates that sugar cane was an important crop in the area at a very early time, as it still is today.

The interior of the main nave is beautifully decorated. The color of the stone pillars and walls lightened up the interior of what could have been a gloomy space.

Painting of the first Franciscans in Mexico. They gather together on the beach as one among them preaches. A laborer watches as the Spanish ships that brought them sail away. The caption at the bottom says "The first Apostles of Mexico." Directly across the nave on the opposite wall is another painting of the same size and framing. This one shows eleven of Jesus' Apostles gathered in a similar fashion. There is a conspicuous blank area in this painting representing the absence of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus to the Romans. The early Franciscans in Mexico saw themselves as the Apostles of their day, facing the massive job of evangelizing a hostile and idolatrous New World population. The Mixtón War indicates that the indigenous people of Mexico may have seen things a bit differently.

Crypt containing the bones of early Fransican martyrs. This plaque covers a crypt in the wall to the left of the main altar. In the Catholic faith, the bones of martyrs are revered. During the fierce struggles of the 19th Century Reform War, Federalists were enraged by the support the Catholic church provided to the Centralists. At Eztatlán in 1859, this rage was expressed when the local Federalists removed the martyrs' bones from the crypt and dumped them in the street outside the church. A few feet from the crypt, a concealed passageway begins. It leads behind the altar area, and may have been originally connected to tunnels that are purported to lead to the mansions of leading citizens.

Near the exit to the concealed passageway, a Franciscan figure holds a child. In the foreground stands a massive candle in an ornate silver holder. The passageway and its supposed connection with neighboring mansions may have been part of an escape network for Centralists during the Reform War, or it might possibly have figured in the Cristero War of the late 1920s. The latter war occurred when the government attempted to enforce provisions of the Constitutions of 1854 and 1917 that curtailed the influence of the Catholic Church on Mexican life and politics. The Cristero War was waged with ferocity in Jalisco. Many priests were executed, while the religious fanatics backing the Church committed their own atrocities.

A unique religious artifact. This 16th Century stone baptismal font is the first ever carved in Mexico by a native craftsman. It is no longer used and sits in a glass case in the Parroquia's small museum.

A candelabra from the old days. I spotted this when I happened to look up to admire the old wooden rafters that spanned the corridor leading to the Parroquia museum. The candelabra is made of wood and wrought iron and may have lighted this hallway for centuries until it was supplanted by electricity.

San Francisco stands in an interior courtyard of La Purisima. As is typical of his depictions, he is shown with birds on his shoulders. San Francisco (St. Francis) is the patron saint of animals and the environment, among other things. Ironically, he was also the rather dissipated son of an Italian merchant in the Middle Ages and fought as a solder for his native town of Assisi. A vision led him to live with and preach among beggars. He eventually created one of the largest and most powerful religious orders within the Catholic Church. Our guide, Carlos E. Parra Ron, stands beside the statue. Carlos is the official historian of Etzatlán and wrote a delightful little book on nearby ex-Hacienda San Sebastian. It is available in the tourist office. Although there is presently only a Spanish-language version, I read fluently enough now that I have found it a valuable guide not only for San Sebastian but to help me understand hacienda life in general.

Floral relief design on early building block. A large block of stone containing this design lay against the wall behind the statue of San Francisco. It apparently decorated one of the early versions of La Purisima. Carlos pointed out a similar block built rather haphazardly into the exterior wall.


The Capuchina Convent

Steeple of the Capuchina Convent, seen from the roof of Hotel Centenario. One of Jalisco's many extinct volcanos rises steeply in the background. The official title of this church is Monasterio del las Damas pobres, Hermanas Clarisas Capuchinas, de la Divina Providencia y Nuestra Señora de Zapopan (Convent of the Poor Women, Capuchin Sisters of the Divine Providence and Our Lady of Zapopan). This is quite a moniker for a relatively small church, although the original convent was somewhat larger than what exists today.

Entrance to the Capuchina Convent's church. When I first visited, I wasn't impressed by the entrance and didn't bother to go inside. However, first impressions can be deceiving, and I took a closer look on my subsequent visits. The walls on either side of the entrance are plain and unadorned but the towering entrance itself was clearly from an antique period. Santa Clara (St. Clare) of Assisi was one of San Francisco's first adherents. Clare of Assisi was born in 1194 AD and first heard San Francisco preach in 1212 AD when she was 18. Almost immediately, she decided to give up her planned marriage and follow San Francisco. She later founded her own order based on the Franciscan tradition, and eventually both her sister and her mother joined as nuns. In 1958, Pope Pius XII designated her the patron saint of television because she was said to be able to see mass on her wall when she couldn't attend because of illness.

A small cherub-like figure appears on the capital of each column. This happily grinning little figure holds the entrance stonework up like a tiny version of Atlas holding up the world. I always enjoy capturing little details like this, which could easily be missed by a casual glance.

The main nave of the Convent's church. The ceiling was much lower than that of the Parrochia, giving the feeling of being underground. Perhaps it is all the low arches supported by thick pillars. In spite of its tunnel-like atmosphere, the church is surprisingly well-illuminated and didn't require a flash for decent photos.

The main altar is covered by an overhead dome. The style of the altar area is Neo-classic, while the rest of the church interior is Romanesque. To the right of the photo is a doorway, blocked by a huge, solid, and very ancient wood door. Our guides pointed out the antique lock on the door, and noted its age. Old or not, it blocked the entrance to the nuns' quarters, and we could go no further in that direction.

Several elegantly-carved confessionals line the walls on the left side of the church. I was intrigued by the construction of these confessionals. The priest sits inside, out of view, while the person confessing kneels outside and speaks through a grille. Most confessionals I have seen elsewhere conceal both the confessor and the penitent. It seemed to me that this arrangement might tend to compromise the secrecy of the confession.

Jesus, sitting up, in a glass booth. The depiction of Jesus in Mexican Catholic churches is often pretty graphic, showing lots of injuries and blood. I am not religious, but I grew up in a Presbyterian household. In that tradition, Jesus, when seen at all, is always clean and antiseptic. Here, he is shown dripping with blood, but in a rather odd posture. My friends and I paused and stared at this for some time, trying to understand what seemed so strange about it. Finally, someone remarked "he looks like he's talking on a cell phone!" On that rather irreverent 21st Century note, we left in search of lunch.

This completes Part 3 of my Etzatlán series. In Part 4, we will visit the ex-Hacienda San Sebastian, an excellent example of the economic, social, and political structure that controlled Mexico for hundreds of years until it was finally destroyed by the Revolution. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If you would like to comment, please do so in the Comments section below or email me directly.

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Hasta luego, Jim