User:Dkallen78/Xhita

The Xhita festival is a Carnival celebration observed almost exclusively in the Mexican municipality of Jilotepec. The celebrations begin 40 days before Ash Wednesday and end on Fat Tuesday. The participants in the celebration are exclusively men.

Otomi origins, Otomi word: ancestor, old

All men, one woman

harvest festival

The Actors
All of the participants in the Xhita festivals are exclusively men.

La Madama
La Madama wears a black dress (usually made of wool), a white embroidered blanket, a red embroidered apron, a red wool quesqueme (shawl), a pink girdle, a black hat, and carries a basket. Typically the basket holds wool, nopal, a white flag, an incence burner, and other items. "She" is the one that imposes order on the festival.

Old Xhita
The Old Xhita dresses as an old man with cane. He wears a wig or hat of ixtle (istle) fiber, a mask with a fake beard, and a one piece suit.

"Dies" at end of ritual

Together, La Madama and the Old Xhita are in charge of the organization of the Carnival festivities.

Los Xhitas
The Xhitas wear headdresses made of cow tails that can weigh up to 15 kilograms. They are typically adorned with horns or antlers to which they tie flowers, mirrors, or rattles. These massive headdresses are called greñeros. As part of their costume, the faces of the Xhitas are always covered with a mask. Traditionally these masks were made of fabric but in more recent times it's common to see participants in latex Halloween masks. The rest of the costume is up to the creativity of the wearer and can range from the traditional to the outlandish.

Another important aspect of the Xhita costume is the horn or trumpet. In the past a cows horn was used, but today it is more common to see plastic horns. The horns are blown in imitations of cows.

These costumes can vary from town to town but the common elements are the same.

dressed in Ixtle, headdress made of cow tails weighing up to 15 kilos with horns (to imitate the sound of cows). Whip, mask, outlandish clothes

El Charro: cowboy (charro) outfit w/ hat and rope

Greñero: wig/headdress made from oxtails. The color can be natural or dyed