Transcendence of oral and customary norms in popular festive rituals: The case of «compromiso» and «reglamento» in the huapango arribeno

Abstract

The tradition of the huapango arribeno that is performed in the Sierra Gorda of Queretaro and Guanajuato, and in the Zona Media of San Luis Potosi, is reflected in the celebration of festival rituals of a musical-poetic nature, both civil and religious, where the glosa blends the copla and the decima. The tradition is governed by a series of rules of traditional and oral nature, among which the «reglamento» (rules) and the «compromiso» (commitment) stand out. This article investigates the legal, linguistic and literary nature of these norms; their interaction with other norms of an external character to the festival; their influence, both in the performance or festive ritual-especially in the topada-, and in the poetic creation. Using ethnographic (interviews and recordings of festivals) and bibliographic sources, the aim is to elucidate the role these norms played in the conservation and transformation of tradition.