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Spec ia l Symposium

Y A N G A A N D T H E B L A C K O R I G I N S O F M E X I C O

Sagrario Cruz-Carretero

This article is dedicated to the black origins of Mexico and the story of oneof its most famous black heroes: Yanga. I will also discuss the present situa-tion of this community of blacks, descendants of the group of slaves whofounded the first free black township on the American continent.

Our country is outstanding for acknowledging our indigenous and Europeanroots, which are well noted in historical and anthropological documents.Although the population is principally mestizo (mixed race), only the indige-nous roots are normally highlighted and the European portion is widely rec-ognized. However, our third root, our African heritage is completely ignored;which is to say the cultural legacy that comes from the African populationbrought to American territory is neglected. ~This heritage can also be found ina wide array of cultural elements such as traditional parties, religious beliefs,rites, myths, divers musical roots, names of cities and towns, architecture,and cuisine.

Our ebony ancestors first arrived during the conquest, and then came ingreater numbers during the colonial period (1519-1810). The vast majority wasprincipally brought from Africa, though some came from the South Pacific.Regulations were enacted to ensure that the proportions of slaves on a slaveship would be one-third women and two-thirds men. This condition provedfavorable to the mixing of races, as the scarcity of black women encouragedrelationships with indigenous women.

The first site authorized for the importation of slaves was the Port of VeraCruz. Later on Tuxpan and Campeche along the Gulf of Mexico were openedand subsequently Acapulco on the Pacific Costa. These became the distributioncenters for sending slaves thought New Spain.

Slaves were forced not only into agricultural activities such as sugar can cul-tivation, but also into all aspects of economic and social life in New Spain. Dur-ing the colonial period there were very few activities in which blacks were notemployed. In protest, they continual ly resisted this unjust sys tem of slavery.Throughout the colonial period this included the formation of fugitive slave set-tlements, attempts at taking power, and armed insurrections. These forms of

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active collective resistance were perceptual manifestations of rejection the sys-tem. All of these were treated as serious crimes and punished accordingly.

Y A N G A INSURRECTIONOur area of study will focus upon the central region of the state Veracruz.

This part of Mexico is most representative our black population. Since the colo-nial period, large quantities of laborers were needed to work the sugar hacien-das. This included both indigenous and Africa slaves. Spanish conquerorsbrought black slaves with them before the conquest in the sixteenth century.They used slaves on the Iberian Peninsula for domestic chores and farmingrural lands.

The first sugar haciendas of Veracruz were established during the sixteenthcentury in the Orizaba area, located in the middle coast of the Gulf of Mexico.At this time, indigenous labor was forbidden on sugar haciendas because oftheir decreasing population due to illness and war. The Spaniards needed moreslaves, so the Spanish Crown authorized slave trafficking companies to importlarge numbers of slaves. These slaves were sent to the most tropical areasbecause the incidences of death were higher among the indigenous populationin this zone than in other parts of New Spain. Also the Spaniards thought blackshad a special and "natural" adaptation to tropical weather. As the needs of thehaciendas grew, so too the number slaves grew.

Slaves manifested their resistance to this oppressive system by running awayand engaging in rebellions. Running away was a costly act. Fugitive slavesbecame known as maroons (cimarrones).The slave now became a thief accusedof stealing property --hi msel f or herself --be longing to the slave owner andpunishable by Catholic law. Maroons crated for themselves mythical images offerocity, savagery, and unmanageability (Aguirre Beltran 1988).

Runaway slaves built up refuges called palenques, which were safe housesfor maroons. Palenques functioned as defense bases, stock, resisting places,pints of meeting and an attraction for other maroons. Some palenques wereconsidered "magical" or enchanted places (Garcia Bustamante 1988). Thelocation ofpalenques had to be strategic. They surprised, attacked, and robbedSpaniards, applying guerrilla strategies of camouflage, quickly disappearing toavoid counterattack and persecution. 2

Maroon activity persisted throughout the colonial period only ending withthe abolition of slavery in 1810. The mountains of Orizaba, located in the cen-tral part of the State of Veracruz, proved to be the perfect refuge for maroonsfrom the sixteenth century. The Spaniards answered rebellions with cruel mil-itary force and imposed religious beliefs. The Spanish Crown sent the army

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to "pacify" the zone in 1609, when the Spanish Crown decided to put an endto these actions, and assigned the Royal Army to fight against the fugitiveslaves. 3

The maroons of the Orizaba Mountains were commanded by Yanga. He wasan elderly man who had been a fugitive for 30 years, and who said that if hewere in Africa he would not be a slave but a king. 4 As mentioned before, Yangaand his group of maroons survived by robbing carriages and raiding nearbyhaciendas. Subsistence farming and the raising of chicken and cattle aug-mented their income.

The military campaign against Yanga was hard for the Spaniards. Themaroons made several attacks on the Spaniard troops. Finally after losing manysoldiers the Spaniards surrendered. The maroons demanded that the SpanishCrown establish a free town to be exclusively inhabited by black people whowere fugitives before 1608. The Crown finally accepted the maroon's condi-tions and in 1630, "The Free Township of San Lorenzo de los Negros" wasfounded near Cordoba.

In San Lorenzo during the colonial period, Spanish and indigenous popula-tions coexisted and mixed with blacks, but this was a change because at thebeginning of the seventeenth century, this was forbidden. Today San Lorenzohas changed its name to Yanga, Veracruz. Its black population has assimilated,although it is not difficult to identify African features in the physical appear-ance of the population.

CARNIVAL IN YANGACarnival is one of the most important events today in the town of Yanga; it is

the celebration of Yanga's victory over the Spaniards and the foundation of "thefirst free township in America". The town's people reproduce the events thatoccurred nearly four centuries ago. They memorial ize them in a festival thattakes place in the month of August, a celebration separate from the betterknown carnivals such as Shrovetide carnival on the days leading up to SaintLawrence's Day, the town's patron saint, August 10th. 5

Activities fill the week form celebrations of Carnival to the Saint Lawrencethe Martyr Day. The events include bullfights with young bulls, the dance of thequeen's coronation, the Ugly King, fireworks, the procession of the people infancy dress, the floats, and the dance in the main square. These are all part ofthe week's festivities that culminate in a mass and procession in honor o f thepatron saint on whose day no other "pagan" activity is performed. Betweenthe sacred and profane, there is a moment of apparent disequilibrium beforedaily order is restored.

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T o d a y C a r n i v a l h a s t a k e n o n a n e w m e a n i n g ; i t i s a c e l e b r a t i o n d e d i c a t e d t ob l a c k c u l t u r e . A l m o s t a l l o f t h e f lo a t s a n d f a n c y d r e s s a l l u d e t o e i t h e r t h e e n v i -r o n m e n t i n w h i c h Y a n g a w a s s u p p o s e d t o h a v e l i v e d o r c h a r a c t e r s r e p r e s e n t -i n g th e A f r i c a n f u g i t i v e s . T h e l a t t er w e r e t h e o r i g i n a l i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e t o w no n c e k n o w a s S an L o r e n z o d e l o s N e g ro s .

T h e e l e m e n t s t h at a re d i s ti n c ti v e f ro m M e x i c o ' s H i s p a n i c - I n d i g e n o u s t ra d i-t i o n c o m e b a c k t o l i fe i n th i s c a r n iv a l . F o r e x a m p l e : t o r e v i v e t h e b l a c k s k i n t h a tn o l o n g e r e x is t s in m a n y p a r ts o f th e t o w n o f Y a n g a , t h e a c t o r s p a i n t t h e i r s k i na n d p u t o n m a s k s . Y a n g a t h e b l a c k s la v e , th e m a n w h o h e a d e d t h e fi rs t h i s t o r i-c a l l y s ig n i f ic a n t a n t i- c o l o n i a l r e b e l li o n i n t h e A m e r i c a s a n d t h e f o u n d e r o f t h et o w n , a p p e a r s a s th e m a i n c h a ra c te r . S y m b o l i c a l l y t h e y r e p r e s e n t t h e b l a c k h e r oa l t h o u g h t h e i r k n o w l e d g e o f h i m is s o m e w h a t d i f f u s e d . A s a r e s u lt , th e i m p o r -t a n c e o f Y a n g a s e e m s t o r e s i d e in h is b e i n g a s y m b o l o f t h e b l a c k m a n w h ow a s t h e c a t a ly s t f o r l i b e r t y in t h e A m e r i c a s .

T w o e x t r e m e s o f C a r n iv a l , t h e s a c r e d a n d t h e p r o f a n e , f o r m a h i s to r i c a l p o i n to f v i e w in t h e v e r y fo u n d a t i o n o f S a n L o r e n z o d e l o s N e g r o s . I t r e p r e s e n t s t h er e s u lt s o f a s t ru g g l e f o r b e t t er c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e A f r i c a n s l a v es w h o w o r k e d t h eh a c i e n d a s a n d a b o v e a l l r e c o g n i t i o n o f th e fa c t th a t th e y w e r e h u m a n b e i n g sa n d f r e e m e n . B u t it i s a l so d e r i v e d f r o m c l a i m s m o r e r e l a t e d t o t h e s a c r e dw o r l d s u c h a s th e p e t it i o n m a d e b y t h e f u g i ti v e s f o r a C a t h o l i c m i n i s t r y a n dt h e d e m a n d t h at it b e a t te n d e d e x c l u s i v e l y b y F r a n c i s c a n f ri a rs .

B e t w e e n t h e r e v e r e n c e in w h i c h Y a n g a i s p o r t r a y e d i n a s c u l p t u r e j u s t o u t -s id e th e s m a l l t o w n a n d t h e C a r n i v a l a t m o s p h e r e a n d b u r l e s q u e w i t h m a s k a n dd i s gu i s es , t h e re a p p e a r s t o b e a c o n t r a d i c t i o n . B u t t h e h o m a g e r e n d e r e d t oY a n g a r e p r e s en t e d b y t h e s c u lp t u r e a n d t h e s a ti ri c al t r e a t m e n t o f h i m w i t h m a s ka n d d i s g u is e s a r e r e c o n c i l a b l e , b e c o m i n g o n e a n d t h e s a m e , s i n c e t h e y e x p r e s so n e p e r s o n i n tw o d i f f e r e n t w a y s .

T h e r e p r e se n t a t i o n , t h e r e m e m b e r i n g a n d t h e e n a c t i n g o f p as t e v e n t s p e r -m i t t h e s p e c t a t o r a n d t h e p a r t ic i p a n t t o le a r n f r o m C a r n i v a l . M o r e o v e r t h e c a r-r y i n g o u t o f th e s e f e st i v it i es b ri n g s t o g e t h e r p e o p l e f r o m o t h e r c o m m u n i t i e s .T h e r e i s e v e n a t le a s t f o r t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e f e s t iv a l s o l i d a r i t y , a n a r r o w i n g o ft h e g a p b e t w e e n I n d o - H i s p a n i c h e r i t a g e a n d b l a c k h e r i t a g e .

I n 1 9 8 8 , r e l a ti o n s w e r e e s t a b li s h e d b e t w e e n t h e e m b a s s y o f th e I v o r y C o a s ta n d t h e m a y o r o f Y a n g a . 6 A s s p e c ia l g u e s t s , t h e d i g n i t a r ie s w e r e a s k e d t o c r o w nt h e q u e e n o f s u c c e e d i n g c a r n i v a ls . T h e i r p r e s e n c e h a s g i v e n a n e w i m p e t u s t ot h e c e l e b r a t io n , in c o r p o r a t i n g n e w e l e m e n t s t h a t p e o p l e r e c o g n i z e a s " A f r i c a n "t h a t t h e y h a v e a d o p t e d a s t h e i r o w n r e i n f o r c i n g t h e i r id e n t i t y a s " b l a c k s " .

I n th i s w a y , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e ca r n i v a l d e m o n s t r a t e p r i d e i n b e i n g p a r to f a t o w n o r i g i n a ll y f o u n d e d b y f u g i t iv e b l a c k s la v e s, o n e w h i c h t h e i n h a b i t a n t sc a ll " T h e f i rs t f r e e b l a c k t o w n s h i p i n A m e r i c a . " I t is t o b e h o p e d t h a t t h e c a r -n i v al in Y a n g a m a y m a k e a c o n t r ib u t i o n t o t h e r e v i t a l i z a t i o n o f b l a c k c u l t u r e , a

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step that would be decisive in the rec ognit ion of the right to racial and culturald i f ference and to improve somet im es very tense re la t ionships be tween co m-muniti es in the region.

N O T E S1. The Third Root Program began in 1989 under the leadership of Guille rmo Bonfil-Batalla, an outstanding Mexican anthropologist who was the president of the General Direc-tion of Popular Cultures, an institution dedicated to preserve and recognize the cultureminorities in Mexico. The anthropologist Luz Maria Martinez Montiel was the coordinatorof the Third Root Program. The project was to support research related to Mexico's black

history and contemporary black population as part of the activities for celebrating the fifthcentury of the "Discovery of the Americas" in 1992. Blacks were considered the third rootafter the indigenous population and Spaniards.2. Palenques (fugitive slave settlements) were established in almost all the slavery areasin the American continent. Richard Price 's book, M a r o o n S o c i e t i e s , presents a series ofexamples of runaway slave settlements in Spanish, Portuguese, British and GermanColonies in the Americas.3. The original letter of Juan Florencio Laurencio has disappeared. Laurencio was thepriest who accompanied the Royal Army and described the military campaign against themaroons. Andes Perez de Rivas (1645) and Francisco Javier Alegre (1746), both Jesuithistorians, reproduced Laurencio 's letter in a document of the General Mexican Archive(Archivo General de la Nacion Ramo Historia 3148) (Aguirre Beltr~in 1988:131).4. Yanga's birthplace is unknown. Archival documents mention that he belonged tothe "Nation Bran," known as well as Bores or Brong of Atabubu. This ethnic group arrivedto New Spain during the sixteenth century from the northern area where Ghana is locatedtoday (Aguirre Beltran, 1984:128,236).5. Known as Shrove Tuesday, Martes de Carnaval is the day before Ash Wednesday ofthe first day of Lent, the forty days' fast prescribed by the Catholic Church before HolyWeek. It is important to distinguish between Shrovetide carnival and other carnivals orga-nized apart of this date known by scholars as "feverish carniva ls" (carnavales de calen-ture). These carnivals are celebrated during patronal festivities throughout Mexico and manyare of recent organization, especially for the purpose of attracting tourists.

6. Yanga city has a center of agronomic investigation and development of sugar speciescalled "Instituto para el Mejormiento de la Producci6n de Azticar" (IMP). The ambassadorof the Ivory Coast, Jeannot Zoro Bi Bah, initiated a cultural and scientific exchange betweenhis country and the Yanga Township. In 1989, the ambassadors of other African nations alsowere invited as special guests of the Carnival of Yanga.