The Papo Uarhani: Performing Blackness in the P’urhépecha Wedding

• In Event: Forms of Belonging, Forms of Exclusion: In/visible Others in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

A wedding in the P’urhépecha community of Angahuan, in the state of Michoacán, México, can last 3 days and its comprised of numerous ritual events. One of the last ritual events is the Papo uarhani, the dance of El Papo. The term Papo refers to three things: a chair decorated with presents, which is given by the wedding godparents to the newlyweds; a song composed specifically for this ritual; and the person that carries the chair and that dances to the song. The young man that is tasked with carrying the Papo has to cover his head and paint his face black, and while he carries the chair he becomes a trickster. While research about the presence of African population in the P’urhépecha area is scarce, in this presentation I aim to make a connection between the Papo and the historical presence of people of African descent in Michoacán, and the way in which Blackness has been (mis)represented in México. By analyzing the performance of blackness during an indigenous wedding, I aim to question issues of belonging and exclusions and issues of representation in México.

Author

• Mintzi A Martínez-Rivera, Indiana University/Bloomington