Adams] SHONTO I ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 209 



discover that his questioner already knows the amount as well as 

 he does, since it is customary to keep track of the amount at the end 

 of each buying session. Statement of the account is followed by an 

 additional question: "Can I have some more?" In most cases this 

 query is as superfluous as its predecessor, since customers are informed 

 in no uncertain terms when their credit has been exhausted; both, 

 however, remain part of the established ritual of trading and are 

 encouraged by the trader as expressions of deference. 



Buying on credit is the one rapid transaction in the Navaho trade. 

 Since credit limits here are arbitrary and flexible, rather than inex- 

 orable as in the case of due bills, Navahos are accustomed to leave 

 them for the trader to worry about. Buying goes on rapidly and 

 with little interruption for mental calculation until either the buyer's 

 wants are satisfied or the trader calls a halt. However, accounts must 

 be totaled at the bottom of each sales slip (i.e., after every 15 items) 

 in order to carry them forward, and it is customary for the customer 

 to inquire the amount of his bill at that time. Only when he knows 

 he is approaching his limit is he likely to keep closer track of his 

 standing. 



Some of Shonto's older clients provide an insight into the proc- 

 esses of the early Navaho trade, when nearly all transactions were 

 by due bill (Underbill, 1956, p. 182). Those of them who are on 

 relief tend to treat their accounts as if they were due bills for the 

 amount of the check. In ascertaining their indebtedness they inquire 

 "how much is left?" rather than "how much do I owe?" 



The way in which Navahos spend cash exasperates even experienced 

 traders, by their own admission. Every item is requested, received, 

 and paid for individually (see, e.g., Luomala, 1938, p. 5). Moreover, 

 the money is never proffered until the requested article has been 

 placed in the hands of the customer, so that every single cash 

 purchase requires the trader to make a trip from the counter to the 

 shelves, back to the counter, to the cash register, and back to the 

 counter. Traders are fond of complaining that they walk a mile for 

 every cash dollar, and it is probably true that there is more legwork 

 involved in trading with Navahos than in most other retail trade. 



As a consequence of Navaho reluctance to part with cash except 

 piecemeal, the average sale recorded by Shonto's cash register is 

 about 35 cents, and not over 10 percent of recorded sales are over a 

 dollar. The length of cash register tapes (up to 15 feet for one day's 

 trade) gives accountants an impression of prosperity which is fre- 

 quently unwarranted. Shonto's owner has been heard to justify his 

 practice of encouraging credit sales at the expense of cash (i.e., credit 

 saturation) simply on the ground that it speeds up business and cuts 

 down walkins so much. 



