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A Treasury Of Mexican Folkways ~ The Customs, Myths, Folklore, Traditions, Beliefs, Fiestas, Dances, Songs of the Mexican People

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A Treasury of Mexican Folkways by Frances Toor
Illustrated with 100 drawings by Carlos Merida
and 165 black-and-white photographs

This fascinating book is a magnificent, all-inclusive account of the Mexican people, their colorful, dramatic, and ancient traditions and ways of life, worship, work, and play. It is filled with rare and wonderful stories of saints, heroes, cowboys, bandits; descriptions of exotic dances and fiestas; accounts of strange customs and ceremonies. All the folk arts -- pottery making, gold and silver work, carving, weaving, hand-drawn work -- are thoroughly described and lavishly illustrated with line drawings and photographs.

Included also are over one hundred songs with music and with words in both Spanish and English. Many of these songs and much of the music, directly transcribed by the author or her associates, had never been available to the public before they appeared in this book.

The author, regarded in her lifetime as the premier authority on Mexican folklore, searched all the authentic sources for material including the ancient Spanish Chronicles and the Codices, in libraries, and, of course, among the various peoples of Mexico.

All periods of Mexican history are covered, as are all regions of the country and all the indigenous peoples, as well as later arrivals.

Aside from the drawings and photographs, the book includes an ethnographic map that clearly delineates the various regions and concentrations of the various native groups.

All in all, A Treasury of Mexican Folklore is nothing less than an encyclopedia, a virtual one-volume course in Mexican lore and culture. It is a book packed full of meaty, useful information, rich with good reading and human interest.

This was originally published in 1948, the author being an anthropologist who wrote several books about Mexico. It contains everything that one could wish to know on the subject, although some of these folkways may have disappeared since the book was published. So much the better that Toor wrote about them while they were still active.