Fiesta and Social Control in Rural Mexico - Literature review Example

Power and Persuasion: Fiesta and Social Control in Rural Mexico. The methodology of anthropological research faces conflict between quantitative and qualitative method, which is more personalized and humanistic. It is observed that qualitative -descriptive method provides essential ingredients to understand human behavior. To understand what the fundamental questions (variable and hypotheses) really are an anthropologist enters the field with some pre-established concepts. It does not mean that he ignores the inductive of sciences for the unbiased data collected from the field may refute the pre-established concepts of an anthropologist. 'The nature of things' do form the notion of mind. (Bacon 1960, first published in 1620). Stanley Brandes also enters in the field with the pre-conceived notion that fiestas do have the mechanism of social control and mechanism is thrust by power and persuasion. Following the steps of Bricker (1973) and Crumrine (1976) he believes that ceremonial life is also helpful in understanding the Mexican Indian ideas about humanity. The study of hierarchical order and his personal observation of rural Mexico provide him the bases to substantiate his hypotheses. The objective is to explore the paradox of the way the fiestas promote order and social control in Rural Mexico whereas, at the surface level the fiestas are the break from the rut of routine life and mostly are 'formless and chaotic' but in reality it helps to "reinforce the power relationships, moral guidelines, and informal sanctioning mechanism by which people regulate their daily behavior." Pelto. Pertti J. Pelto .Gretel. H. Anthropological Research: The Structure of inquiry. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978 Brandes cites the early efforts of Robert Redfield (1930) and Elsie Clews Parson (1939) who tried to demonstrate the relationship of ideology and social behavior. The writers mentioned above became the victim of the biases of the methodology of qualitative descriptive research and jaundiced their point of view by romanticizing the Mexican folklore, giving the impression that Indians were 'free of psychic and social conflict.' In the later study of Gossen (1974) et al it comes out that ethnic identity is confirmed by the ceremonials, since the person who does not share the rituals and belief of its community is considered an outsider; providing Brandes the base to study fiesta as mechanism of social control. He found that fiestas are the mechanism of controlling process and it is maintained through power and persuasion. Persuasion to Brandes is "the totality of informal pressures and instructive procedures that lead people to conduct their lives with regard to particular standards." Persuasion is concept to bring to light the influence that social equals exercise on one other. Brandes defines power as, "Coercive and manipulative influences of formally constituted organs of church and state." The church and state become the active agents of supernatural to mobilize people for 'collective religious action' and the skills demonstrated in performing rituals and fulfilling the responsibilities on behalf of community is to exert their power over the community. The study is concerned with the 'fiesta cycle' in anthropological domain fiesta cycle is defined as rituals and folklorists call it festivals. The analysis pattern in the book is of 'Cycle's History' and its effect. The analysis tries to resolve two paradoxes. Ethic and aggrandizement of self have replaced the shared values of equality and the concept of 'shared poverty' in Tzintzuntzan. With the disappearance of the old cargo system the responsibility to bear the brunt of funding has been shifted to the community. The cargo system relied on two major principles; first was the individual responsibility and the nobles of the community were to sponsor, for longer or short period of time, fiesta and they also fulfilled the responsibility to take care of the sacred images, churches and chapels. The second was the hierarchal order, wherein, the official post or cargo were assigned according to the cost and honor but with the passage of time individual sensors gained the higher position in the society. To elaborate on his notion of persuasion; impersonal influence, Brandes discuss the gift rituals practiced in rural Mexico. Marcel Muses in The Gift (1967) presents the idea of "total presentation" i.e. gifts having economic, moral, political and religious phenomena. Gifts produce obligation on the recipient to assure reciprocity. Muses thinks that gifts are symbolic of individuals and the groups. 'The ritual of gift exchange establishes a potent means of interpersonal influences. It allows individual to insinuate certain symbolic properties into the life of a gift recipient.' George Foster (1961) introduced the theory of dyadic contract in the context of Tzintzuntzan, which to him is the basic principle of social organization, and the bond is formed between equals. Brandes is of the opinion that dyadic contract model can help in the interpretation of the daily affairs of Tzintzuntzan. In the dyadic contract 'goods and services are exchanged with the kind of compelling force that we read about in so-called archaic society.' McCracken. Grant. David. Culture and Consumption. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Brandes. Stanley. H. Power and Persuasion: Fiesta and Social Control in Rural Mexico. The mechanism of fiesta serves to maintain order in the community. Through symbolic analysis, the writer demonstrates the principles of cultural organization which are found in fiesta cycle of Tzintzuntan. Being a complex event the organization of fiesta needs a good deal of social maneuvering, which calls into action a series of power hierarchies and makes significant certain core values. Fiestas also establish and corroborate the system that gives rise to them. Not only do they coalesce authority relations, both executive and unauthorized, but they also impose the norms by which orderly social life may be carried out. The annual fiesta cycle is a sign of political dependence of the rural community on the nation state. Fiestas are the effective tools to maintain formal authority, and to continue the behavioral norms and social values. To Cohen the symbols are, "the distribution, maintenance and exercise of power."4. Turner is also of view that symbolic analysis is the source of power theoretical ideas in contemporary anthropology. 4 Turner. Victor. Symbolic Studies. Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 4 (1975) pp 12 . Read More