DANZA-DE-LA-PLUMA - SYMBOLS OF SUBMISSION AND SEPARATION IN A MEXICANFIESTA

This article examines the danza de la pluma (feather dance) in the Zap otec Indian village of Teotitltan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. The dance and community fiesta reproduce hierarchical structures of the Mexican state while at the,same time authoring local alternatives to these st ructures. More than a period of excess, ritual is a part of a process by which indigenous hopes implicit in everyday life are expressed. The article explores the symbolism of the characters and setting of the d ance, and examines how the fiesta symbolically restructures community relations of production.