490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1958 
Why were the men in Ziruma?—the Guajiro slum sector of Mara- 
caibo—a lone woman in her one-room hut, deftly weaving a beautiful 
hammock, made the shattering and unanswerable reply, “Ziruma is 
better than the Guajira when you are starving.” 
One Guajiro who has worked at times as a chauffeur in the oilfields, 
and who now does odd jobs in the way of trucking and hauling pro- 
duce to market, operates a little repair shop out in the open air at the 
side of his house. Between periods of traveling around the Guajira 
he spends his time in La Gloria reconditioning a beat-up truck or a 
jeep of ancient vintage, either bought as a bargain in Maracaibo or 
retired after many years’ service over the bumpy trails of the Guajira; 
he sets up his own work schedule and works when he has the time 
and feels like it; one is amazed at the ingenuity he shows in tackling 
difficult jobs. He is considered a master mechanic, and he has as 
helper or apprentice an intelligent industrious Guajiro youth who 
is learning the trade. 
Incipient industries have also been started by enterprising in- 
dividuals. One householder has started up a thriving business 
making sandals with soles cut from castoff rubber tires (pl. 8, fig. 2). 
His womenfolk make on small hand looms the bands of coarse cotton 
fiber with which the sandals are held firmly in place on the foot. 
These products are sold in the local market at Paraguaipoa and are 
also bought up in job lots by merchants for distribution in Maracaibo. 
The maker has the advantages of living in a low-rent zone, of having 
the help of his womenfolk, and of having no transportation or dis- 
tribution problems. 
There is also a jeweler who lives in one of the tiny huts, and whose 
personal history and background are shrouded and vague. He was 
the only person who spoke no Guajiro, who was not hospitable, who 
wanted no pictures taken at all. Although he claimed to be from 
Maracaibo, he was reportedly from Colombia. It is possible that he 
may be in Venezuela for his health, that behind the front of gold 
and silver smelting he is engaged in activities of a secretive or clan- 
destine order. 
That La Gloria is a zone of cultural transition is shown by the 
various house types, a reflection of the cultural background and the 
degree of acculturation of the builder and owner. There is no fixed 
pattern; everyone builds what his purse, his fancy, and his degree of 
acculturation indicate as feasible. New arrivals from the interior may 
construct a simple framework set on four posts and covered with 
palm leaves for shade (pl. 4, fig. 1). There are no walls, ham- 
mocks are slung from the uprights, and cooking is done in the open 
(pl. 4, fig. 2). Such a primitive home may be lived in for weeks or 
even months, after which the owners may build a somewhat more 
pretentious home, or they may leave for the bush again. They are 
