Ritualistic hybridities: A comparative study of Mexico\u27s Costa Chica Devils Dance

Based on field research among Afro-Mexican people of the Costa Chica, Oaxaca, located on the South Pacific coast of Mexico, this study compares structural features and cultural development of two traditional groups of the Devils Dance. In the performance and social structure of this secular ritual, dance crystallizes the mixing cultural components of African, Amerindian and European heritages. Although the African legacy is dominant, after more than 300 years since its origins in the Colonial period, the Devils Dance has incorporated different elements mainly from Spanish and Mixtecan traditions. This is perceptible in the masks, costume, musical instruments, choreographic symbolism, and music, as well as in the late adoption of November 1 st as the official day of the performance, coinciding with Mexico\u27s traditional celebration of the Day of the Dead. In order to exemplify the richness of Costa Chica\u27s Afro-Mexican culture, various genres of oral tradition are also studied in this research, including stanzas of popular poetry during fandangos, such as sones de artesa, chilenas and weddings, as well as in daily life. Corridos (ballads) and cumbias are two other genres of oral tradition studied here, which in the same manner mirror the current life and passions of the Afro-Mexicans. In this study, both ritual dance and oral tradition are interpreted as performing texts expressing cultural identity and resistance of this marginalized ethnic sector of the population, who for centuries have been customarily ignored. This investigation involves the participation of approximately 40 human subjects from two Afro-Mexican rural communities. It also includes pictures, tape and video recordings of the Devils dance, and 15 open-ended interviews with different members of both communities. The fieldwork and interpretation of data has taken advantage of multiple disciplines, such as comparative literature, anthropology, performance studies, oral tradition, and cultural theory, all of which is oriented to advance the arena of Afro-Latin American cultural studies