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SOUTHWESTERN JOURNAL
OF ANTHROPOLOGY
VOLUME 6
NUMBER 4
WINTER
1950
S ANTHROPOLOGISTS have been drawninto the study of Latin American cultures, they have gathered increasingamounts of material on the
characteristicculturalmechanismsof compadrazgo.This term designatesthe particular complexof relationshipsset up betweenindividualsprimarily,though not
always,throughparticipationin the ritual of Catholicbaptism.
This rite involves, among its various aspects, three individualsor groups of
individuals.These are: first, an initiate, usually a child; secondly,the parentsof
the initiate; third, the ceremonialsponsoror sponsorsof the initiate. It thus involves three sets of relationships.The first links parentsand child, and is set up
withinthe confinesof the immediatebiologicalfamily. The second links the child
and his ceremonialsponsor,a personoutsidethe limits of his immediatebiological
family. This relationis familiar to most Americansas the relationbetweengodfather or godmotherand godchild.The third set of relationshipslinks the parents
of the child to the child's ceremonialsponsors.In Spanish, these call each other
Italian comSpanish compadre-comadre,
compadres (Latin compater-commater,
pare-commare,French compere-commere,German Gevatter-Gevatterin,Russian
kum-kuma,etc.), literallyco-parentsof the same child. The old English form of
this term,godsib,is so unfamiliarto most English-speakingpeople today that they
even ignore its hidden survivalin the noun "gossip"and in the verb "to gossip."
In English, as in the Ecuadoriancompadrear,the meaningof the term has narrowed to encompassjust one, if perhaps a notable characteristicof compadre
341
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RITUAL CO-PARENTHOOD
343
I. HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS
344
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17 Dopsch,1918-20,vol. 1, p. 378.
18 Ibid.
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25
26
27
28
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the variousrights of tenure which they enjoyed. "Begun in the twelfth century,
emancipationwas mainlyachieved . . . by individualor collectiveacts of enfranchisement . . . generallybrought about through a revolt of the inhabitantsof a
seignorie."29This struggle was often carried on with the aid of Crown and
Church, which supportedthe claims of serfs and tenants in order to undermine
the position of the lay aristocracy.Not the least of these claims was directed
against the feudal regulationsgoverning marriage.
One of the most direct consequencesof the extensionof the exogamicgroup
through ritual kin ties was to put pressureon existing provisionsfor a stable
labor supply. Marriage off the manor meant the loss of propertyto one of the
feudal lords, and he exacted compensation.A serf was not permittedto marry
off the manor without paymentof an indemnityvariouslyknown as formariage,
foris, or merchet.Extension of kinship ties through ceremonialsponsorshipinevitablybroughtnearerthe day when most of the inhabitantsof a village would
be ritually related,and yet unable to pay the fee requiredfor marriagesoutside
the estate. Conflictsmight for a while be avoided through refusal to marryand
baptize in church, through systematicchoice of godparents from the group of
blood relatives,30or through systematic choice of sponsors from one family.31
The two last-namedtechniques are reported for modern Bulgar villages. Yet
these devicesproved temporary,especiallyin the smallercommunities.32
At first,
lords tried to meet the situation of increasingmigration and marriageoff the
manor by local agreements,33but in the thirteenthand fourteenthcenturies,the
paymentof merchetfell into disuse altogether.Serfs acquiredthe right to marry
off the manor when they took over their fathers' land, or bargainedwith their
lords for the privilege of marryingwithout interference.When a bargain was
struck, the serfs had the exemptionswritten down in the manorial rolls, to be
certainof proof when the actual occasionarose.34
The special charterswon by the peasantryduring these times gave rise to a
specialkind of neighborhoodsolidarity,reflected,in termsof the presentproblem,
in attemptsto include all the membersof the neighborhoodwithin the compadre
network. Thus we may note a Bosnian practice of including Muslim members
of the communityby making them sponsorson special occasions,until in 1676
the Holy Office issued a decree against "the admissionof heretics as sponsors,
29 Ganshof, op. cit., p. 319.
30 Boesch, op. cit., p. 26.
31 Sanders,1949,p. 129.
32 Laurin, op. cit., p. 262. For parallels in modern Bulgaria, cf. Handjieff, 1931, pp. 36-37.
33 Nabholz, 1941, p. 506.
34 Bennett, 1938, pp. 241-242.
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even though the strongest reasons of friendship and familiarity prompted the
choice of such a person."35Also, in some areasneighborsacquiredspecial rights
as witnessesin legal proceedings,survivinguntil recentlyin the right of the Serb
compadreto defend his kum in court,and to act as witnessfor him.36
In passingwe may mentionthat the pattern of sponsorshippermittedof easy
extension into other spheres of activity. Thus, the organizationsof medieval
journeymenused both the componentsof baptism and sponsorshipin initiating
apprenticesto their ranks,37and knights who aided a candidate for initiation
into knighthoodwent by godfather and compadreterms.38
Finally, we must mentionthe sanctionsof the Church in the enforcementof
exogamy.In setting new norms for its tenants, it acted in its own self-interestin
competitionwith the lay aristocracywhich jealously guarded and reinforcedits
position of immunity.In extendingCanon Law, and at the same time stressing
dispensationsfrom it, the Churchadded a sourceof income.Canon Law is manmade law, and the Pope has the right, by virtue of his office,to change its stipulations at will. For sixteen groschena commonercould marryhis blood relatives
of the fourth degreeof relationship,not to speak of ritual kin relations,39and a
price list for the years 1492-1513specificallystates that "in spiritualrelationships
paupersare not dispensed,and the compositionis three hundredducats; nevertheless,one hundredare commonlypaid."40Coulton has pointedout that enforcement to the letter of Canon Law would have meant "papaldispensations. . . in
almost every generationof almost every village in Europe,"41and the law was
often honoredin the breach.But punishmentstruck hard, as in the case of one
John Howthon of Tonbridge who was whippedthree times around market and
church for having marrieda girl to whom his first wife had been godmother.42
As the Middle Ages draw to a close, we find an increasingnumberof local
attemptsto restrictthe extensionof exogamythrough ritual kin ties, on the part
of both Churchand state. A numberof synods,held betweenthe years 1310 and
1512, tried to set limits to the numberof sponsorsat baptismalceremonies,but
failed.43In 1521 the GermanEstates petitionedthe Pope for redressof a series
of wrongs.Their complaintagainst ritual kinship derived from baptismalsponsorship heads a list of some sixty-oddcomplaints.44The German Reformation
directedits attack againstthe custom."This is the work of fools," Luthersaid.45
35
36
37
38
41
42
43
44
45 Luther,1539,p. 301.
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54 Espinosa,1942,p. 70 passim.
55 Redfield and Villa R., loc. cit.; Parsons, loc. cit.; Foster, loc. cit.; Paul, op. cit., p. 79
passim.
56 Lopez Medel, quoted in Landa, 1941, p. 227.
57 Sahagun,1932,pp. 34-35.
58 Paul,op. cit., pp. 85-87.
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in practice-the creationof a securitynetwork of ritual kin folk through ceremonialsponsorship-seems ratherto be due to the institution'sinherentflexibility
and utility, than to any preexistingpatternwith which the new complexmight be
integrated. Present-dayfolklore concerningthe fate of an unbaptizedchild69
suggeststhat a strongemphasison the moralnecessityfor baptismwas made from
the start. In moder practice,however,whetherthe people in a given culturewill
feel that baptismrequiresthe officialapprovaland participationof representatives
of the Church varies considerably.The evidenceis that once the secular utility
of this sacred institutionwas established,the native populationscould count on
the fulfillment of those reciprocalobligations which godparentageand compadrazgo entailed, the Churchmight not even be consulted.Makeshift ceremonies,
consummatedwithout orthodoxclericalapproval,becameso widespreadas to be
illegalizedby ecclesiasticalruling in 1947, except in cases wherethe child's death
seemed imminentbefore officialbaptism.
As has been indicated,the mechanismof godparenthoodtook shape originally
as a means for guaranteeingreligious education and guidance to the Catholic
child. This aim was achievedthrough the ritual kinship establishedbetweenthe
newborninfant, its parents,and its godparents,at the baptismalceremony.The
relationshipfrequentlywas reinforced,or extendedwith new sponsors,at otherlife
crisis ceremonies,including confirmationand marriage.
From the original Catholic life crisis ceremonialsponsorship,godparenthood
has been elaboratedin variousLatin Americancommunitiesinto the ceremonial
sponsorshipof houses, crosses, altars, or carnivals,60circumcision,61the future
crop,62commercialdealings,63and so on. Gillin lists fourteen forms of compadrazgo for a single community.64In certain cases, it cannot be said with any
certaintywhetherthe new adaptationwas developedlocally, or constitutesa carryover of some kind from some older Europeanelaboration.
In general, ritual ties betweencontemporariesseem to have becomemore important than those betweengodparentsand godchildren.This point is elaborated
by Gillin in his discussionof the Peruviancommunity,Moche. He writes:
The essenceof the systemin Mocheis an "artificialbond,"resemblinga kinshiprelationship,whichis establishedbetweenpersonsby meansof a ceremony.The ceremony
usuallyinvolvesa sponsorshipof a personor materialobjectby one or moreof the
personsinvolved,and the ceremonyitself maybe ratherinformal.Howeverin Moche
it seemsto be placingthe wrongemphasisto labelthe wholesystem . . . "ceremonial
59 Redfield and Villa R., op. cit., p. 169; Parsons, 1945, p. 44; Paul, op. cit.
60 Gillin, 1945, p. 105.
61 Beals,1946,p. 102.
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basis for the mechanism,but no longer its sole motivating force. Some brief
exampleswill demonstratethe institution'sflexibility.
two compadres
In Chimaltenango,69
Two comadres
will lendeachothermaizeor money ("asmuchas six dollars") ....
shouldvisit each otheroften and they may borrowsmallthingsreadilyfrom one another.When one is sick,or whenone has just had anotherchild,her comadreshould
comebringingtortillasfor the family,and she shouldwork in her comadre'shouse
"likea sister."
In Peguche,70"whitecompadresare an asset for anyonewho has businessin
Otovalo or Quito."
In Tzintzuntzan,71
On the economiclevel,the compadrazgo
systemformsa kind of socialinsurance.Few
are the familieswhich can meet all emergencieswithout outsidehelp. Often this
of a carguero.Somemeansmanualhelp at the time of a fiesta,or the responsibility
timesit meanslendingmoney,whichnear blood relativesdo not like to do, because
of the tendencyneverto repaya debt. But compadresfeel obligedto lend, and no
one wouldhaverespectfor a manwho refusedto repaya compadre.
In San Pedrode Laguna,72
The practicalpurposemotivatingthe selectionof Ladinasas comadresis the belief
that they can cureinfantillnessesand haveaccessto the necessarymedicines.The Indians storeno medicine.But the Ladinas-by virtueof their culturaltraditionand
theirgreaterincome-customarilyhaveon hand a numberof drugstorepreparations.
of comingto the medical
The godparentbondimposeson the Ladinathe responsibility
aid of her Indiangodchild.The first year or two is correctlyconsideredto be the
most criticalperiodof the infant'slife. Hence the nativessacrificelong-runconsiderationsin favorof providinga measureof medicalprotectionduringthe infancyof the
child ...
Evidence from studies of two communitiesin Puerto Rico suggests that the
compadrerelation may be invoked to forestall sexual aggressions.73Cases are
mentionedwherea man concernedabout the attentionsof a family friend to his
wife, sought to avoid troubleby makinghis friend his compadre.Thus a new and
more sacred relationshipwas established.
Among the Huichol,74the compadrerelationship
unquestionably
strengthensHuichol socialorganizationoutsidethe family, which is
not strong. Though compadresare not under economicbonds to each other, the
69 Wagley, 1949, p. 19.
70 Parsons, 1945, p. 45.
71 Foster, op. cit., p. 264.
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358
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360
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characterof compadrazgoand some of its functionings, within small "homogeneous" groupings. The mechanismplainly has considerableimportanceand
utility and is treated reverentiallyin all three places. Yet while Tusik is isolated
and lacks a class-character,Barrio Poyal and Pascua are both involved in wageearning,cash crop,worldmarketproductivearrangementswherethe homogeneity
is one of class membershiponly, and isolationis not characteristic.
In Tusik, compadrazgois correlatedwith great internalstability,low economic
mobility,ownershipof land by the village, and the lack of a cash economyand
classstratification.In BarrioPoyal and Pascuacompadrazgocorrelateswith homogeneous class membership,landlessness,wage-earning,and an apparentgrowing
identity of class interest.
An interestingcontrast is provided by Gillin's study of Moche. This is a
Peruviancoastalcommunitywhich, accordingto the Foreword,
is in the last stagesof losing its identityas an Indian group and of being absorbed
into Peruviannationallife .... Surroundedby large,modernhaciendas,Moche is
"Indian"only in that its populationis largelyIndian in a racialsense, that it has
retainedmuchof its ownlands,that it existsin a certainsocialisolationfromsurrounding peoples,retaininga communitylife organizedon a modifiedkinshipbasis,mainly
of Spanishderivation.... Its lands,however,are now ownedindividually,and they
are beingalienatedthroughsale and litigation.It is on a cash ratherthan subsistence
basis economically.... Many Mocheroseven work outside the communityfor
wages, and some are in professions.. . . Formalaspectsof native social organization have disappeared,and contactswith the outsideworldare increasing.86
In Moche, the compadresystem would expectablybe subject to the same
stressesas those sufferedby any other local social institution.Yet
the whole idea of this type of relationshiphas been carriedto extremesin Moche.
There are moretypesof padrinazgo[i.e. godfatherhood]in this communitythan in
any other concerningwhich I have seen reports.This fact may be linked with the
absenceof spontaneouscommunityorganizationand solidarity.
Gillin finds evidencefor fourteendifferentkinds of compadrerelations.As to the
choice of compadres,Gillin says:
Godparentsmay be bloodrelatives,but usuallythe attemptis madeto securepersons
who arenot relativesof eitherof the parents.Not only Mocheros,but in these days,
trustedforasteros[i.e. outsiders]are chosen.Fromthe point of view of the parents
it is desirableto choosegodparentswho are financiallyresponsible,if not rich, and
also personswho have "influence"and prestigefulsocialconnections.The real function of godparentsis to broaden,and, if possible,increasethe social and economic
86 Gillin, op. cit.; Foreword by Julian H. Steward.
362
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364
In the third contextis Moche. Land is held predominantlyin small plots; the
crops, as in San Jose, are both cash and subsistence,and while Gillin doubts the
existenceof classes,certainlythe compadresystemis describedas a verticalstructuring one. Here, too, the elaborationof face-to-faceceremonialismmay help to
slow the acceleratedtrend towardland concentration,a cash economy,and incorporationinto the world market.
III. CONCLUSION
L.
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