rge of the church
edifice and the teaching of the children. It is his duty to take the
young couples to the padre to be married. But the padre is far away and
comes around only once a year, and sometimes even less frequently,
and then the fiscal, so to say, rounds up all the matrimonially
inclined. On account of their innate ardour to comply with all
religious requirements the Tarahumares are willing to go through the
ceremony, though to them it has no significance beyond the payment of
one dollar. On this account they do not mind waiting for the padre's
blessing for a couple of years, until they get ready to part with
the dollar, thereby generally saving an extra trip for baptising.

As the padre's visits are so few and far between, the fiscal even
considers it incumbent upon himself to make up matches on his own
account, telling the people that when the padre comes they should
be ready to get married. But so independent are the Tarahumare girls
that it has happened that when the padre asks the portentous question,
they cry, "Kaeke, kaeke" ("No, no"), and run away.

In my time there was a padre (now removed) who emulated the example
of the shamans and was frequently in his cups. On one occasion he
was unable to perform the marriage ceremonies, and the sacristan
accompanying him had to take his place. All this man knew about the
rite was to ask the man and the woman whether they would have each
other. On hearing their "Yes" he would say, "Where is the dollar?" and
pocketing it send the couple off with, "Now you are all right."

When an addition is expected in the family the chief preparation of
the woman is to get ready a quantity of beer, calling on her friends
to help her, while the husband goes to look for the shaman. When
she feels her time is approaching, she retires to some lonely spot,
as she is too bashful to bear her child while others are about. She
tightens her girdle around her waist, and bears her child sitting up,
holding on to something above her, like the branch of a tree. After
the little stranger has arrived the husband may bring her a jar with
warm water from which she occasionally drinks. He also digs a hole,
in which, after he has gone, she buries the placenta, placing stones
on top of the place on account of the dogs. The umbilical cord is
cut with a sharp reed or a sharp-edged piece of obsidian, but never
with a knife, for in that case the child would become a murderer
and could never be a sha