This ritual, now almost extinct and the subject of debate regarding its preservation, is one of the oldest and most unique elements of the Lake Pátzcuaro region. The duck, considered a ritual dish of the Purépecha elite, was offered to the deceased to honor their return, bearing witness to the ancestral authenticity that still resides in the lake basin.
In the heart of the Night of the Souls, when the veil between the world of the living and the dead thins, there was a ritual that united humans, the lake, and their ancestors in a profound and silent way: the ceremonial duck hunt, or Kuirisi-atakua. This tradition, which was once the sacred prelude to the vigil in the riverside communities, survives today primarily as a powerful memory, an echo of the abundance that once characterized Lake Pátzcuaro.
The Night Ritual: A Link to the Past
In the early and coldest hours of November 1st, before the sun touched the water, the Purépecha hunters, especially those from Janitzio Island, would venture into the lake. They did so not with the roar of a sporting hunt, but with the stealth and reverence of those fulfilling a sacred mission. Gliding in their wooden canoes, they became shadows on the water, searching for the wild duck that would be the main delicacy in the offering for their deceased.
Skill was essential. Armed with ancestral tools such as the t’irhempo (a dart thrower) and the ch’úpiri (a thin, three-pronged spear), the hunters demonstrated a skill passed down through generations. Catching birds in flight or surprising them in the tulares required intimate knowledge of the lake, its winds, and its silence. Each duck captured was not a trophy, but a gift for the souls awaiting its return.
The Current Reality: The Silence of a Wounded Lake
Today, the echo of the t’irhempos has ceased. The practice of Kuirisi-atakua has almost completely vanished, not due to a lack of will or faith, but as a direct consequence of the ecological crisis facing Lake Pátzcuaro. Pollution, deforestation, and the shrinking of its waters have devastated the habitat of migratory birds. The tulares where they nested have diminished, and the wild ducks that once arrived by the thousands are now a rare presence.
The lake, which was once a source of life and sustenance for this ritual, can no longer provide. The chain of knowledge has been broken; new generations no longer learn to handle ancestral tools because the opportunity to practice ceremonial hunting has disappeared.
The Tradition That Transforms
Despite the silence on the lake, the spirit of the ritual endures. The tradition has not died; it has transformed. Purépecha families, with the same devotion, continue to prepare the dishes for their offerings. Duck in mole or other traditional stews is still honorably placed on altars and graves in cemeteries. However, these birds no longer come from a nocturnal hunt; they are now domesticated ducks, purchased at local markets.
The Kuirisi-atakua survives as a legend, a story told by elders to remember the richness of their lake and the depth of their customs. It is a symbol of the sacred connection the Purépecha people have with their environment and a poignant reminder that the survival of their culture is inextricably linked to the health of the land and water that gave rise to it.
Although duck hunting has declined over the years to protect the lake’s ecology, the memory of this ancestral ritual lives on through the Dance of the Fishermen. This performance, which can be witnessed at docks like the one in Pátzcuaro or on the island of Janitzio, symbolizes the sacred work and the offering made to the souls of the departed, serving as a living testament to the cultural continuity of the Purépecha fishermen.
