ACCULTURATION IN THE GUAJIRA—CRIST 487 
are found in almost all stages of transition to a state of society in 
which the father is the center of kinship and government.” These 
observations hold true of the Guajira. Changes are continuously 
taking place in the matrilineal structure, but at the present time ma- 
ternal kinship still continues to exist side by side with institutions of 
paternal authority. 
LAND TENURE 
The land in the Guajira is almost completely baldio, or state owned, 
so far as the nation is concerned. The various clans, or castas, how- 
ever, occupy lands that, according to oral traditicn, have always been 
grazed by the flocks of their ancestors; thus they claim the “im- 
memorial rights” of the desert Bedouins. Problems begin to arise 
as soon as grazing is no longer the principal activity. When seden- 
tary agriculture is carried on, the farmer must know who owns the 
land or, at least, who owns the crop. The practice followed at present 
is that whoever plants a crop anywhere has the right to the usufruct 
of the land planted, as long as he continues to work it. Heirs can 
inherit the right of usufruct. The burden of keeping the crop fenced 
off against the depredations of migratory flocks rests upon the owner 
of the crop. 
Since there has been no tradition of landholding by individuals 
in fee simple, it is difficult to get people interested in rights to land. 
Many persons even build relatively substantial homes, with cement 
floors and walls and with aluminum or galvanized-iron roofs, with- 
out having made any effort to get what we think of as a clear title— 
or any kind of title—to the land. To be sure, in Latin America 
generally, rights to real property are vague, and squatters are preva- 
lent. Those humble folk who do hold papers often find to their 
sorrow that they are notoriously subject to invalidation. Nevertheless 
the Guajiro, by his whole background, is conditioned to an acceptance 
of vague concepts with reference to landholding, which carries over 
into tie zone of acculturation as well. 
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRIES 
Over the past generation a new note has been added to the cultural 
landscape from Sinamaica northward to well past Paraguaipoa— 
the coconut grove. Each year new groves are being established (pl. 
3, fig. 3) and old groves are being increased in extent. The completion 
of the asphalt highway to Paraguaipoa made it possible to extend 
groves even farther north because of the ease of transporting the 
products to market. While a small number of the coconuts are used 
to supply the local demand for the refreshing coconut water, agua de 
coco, by far the larger part of the crops is used for the production 
of coconut oil, which is extracted from the meat of the ripe coconut 
