74 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
Sijefios, take Pacific salt to sell in most of the west- 
ern Cuchumatanes villages. 
Lumber and furniture.—Boards and beams of 
good size (see p. 69) are hewn from large white pine 
trunks in the high mountains between the village of 
Nahuala and the town of Totonicapan. Indians 
from the two municipios carry this lumber on their 
backs to Quezaltenango, where they sell it largely 
to carpenters, though some is sold in the street in 
front of the entrance to the big enclosed market place 
(pl. 38, c). Totonicapan (mostly Argueta) In- 
dians make simple unpainted pine furniture, espe- 
cially chairs and tables, and decorated chests. These 
go to markets from Quezaltenango to Guatemala 
City, and are much in demand. 
Pitch pine (ocote).—Pitch pines, probably 
chiefly Pinus teocote, which is rich in resin, are the 
source of the ocote (pitch pine splints) collected and 
sold by Indians of certain Highland municipios where 
suitable trees grow. Split to about 14-1 inch by 
Y%—'4 inch by 10-12 inches, pitch pine splints are 
usually taken only in small quantities from any one 
tree without cutting it down or killing it at once. 
Ocote is valued most for torches, though it is also 
much used for starting fires. Because of the limited 
distribution of pitch pine trees and the demand for 
torches, ocote is an important market commodity. 
The chief producing centers are: Momostenango 
(canton Xicamaya)-Santa Maria Chiquimula 
(ocote sold at San Francisco el Alto by about 10 or 
15 vendors from each place every Friday, and resold 
in San Andrés Xectil, Salcaja, Olintepeque, and 
Quezaltenango, often in combination with Xicamaya 
limas) ; Nahuala, selling mainly in the Cantel market ; 
Chichicastenango, especially canton Panimaché, 
which supplies the Panajachel market, where at one 
time ocote was essential to the Santa Catarina 
Palopé crabbers (ocote in the Panajachel market is 
taxed in kind rather than by cash) ; and Chinique, 
where turpentine is also made (see map 18). 
Incense and charcoal.—Incense made from resin 
is a specialty of Indians of Santa Maria Chiquimula, 
who supply chiefly the Quezaltenango-Totonicapan 
region and Sacapulas, reaching the markets of the 
Lake Atitlan—Chichicastenango region. The village 
of Chichicastenango is one of the best markets for 
incense, owing to the active religious life there (pls. 
28; 29, a, b). Santa Maria Chiquimula incense is 
sold on a large scale (by 20 men every Friday) at the 
San Francisco el Alto market (pls. 35, c; 36), where 
it is bought for resale by Indians of Huitan, Cabri- 
can, and especially Cajola. The latter sell the in- 
cense again at San Juan Ostuncalco, where there are 
10 vendors every Sunday. For the distribution of 
charcoal, which is usually sold from house to house, 
see map 18 and page 71. 
Firewood.—Because so many parts of the High- 
lands have been cleared of forests in gathering fire- 
wood, construction materials, and boughs (especially 
pine, the needles of which are widely used on floors) 
for decoration, and in preparing the lands for plant- 
ing, firewood is now at a premium. Usually it is 
sold from house to house, as at Solola (pl. 10, d), 
where much of it comes from San José Chacaya. 
The basin in which the town of Quezaltenango is 
situated is so bare of tree growth that firewood 
must be brought from a considerable distance (pls. 
36; 38, a, d, f). Indians of Totonicapan and San 
Cristobal Totonicapan get a supply from the wooded 
slopes south and southeast of them and take it to 
Quezaltenango. During July and August 1936 there 
were about 50 men and women (evenly divided) and 
over half as many mules on the road to Quezaltenan- 
go to sell firewood there. The other main source is 
the little Indian village of Pié de Volcan, just south- 
west of Quezaltenango, and at the base of Santa 
Maria volcano (pl. 38, c), as the name implies. The 
slopes of the volcano are wooded if one goes up far 
enough. Women from this village, usually 15 or 
20 a day, sit in the street outside the entrance to the 
main enclosed market of Quezaltenango and sell 
large bundles of sticks (pl. 38, c). Quezaltenango 
and nearby Salcaja are among the few places in 
Guatemala where firewood is sold in the plaza. 
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND ASSOCIATED 
GOODS 
(Maps 9-13) 
» Maize.— Maize, the most important food in Guate- 
mala, is one of the main market commodities (pl. 
14, c). Relatively few individuals or even com- 
munities are self-sufficient, however, with respect to 
this essential staple. The limited harvest period and 
the differences in growing seasons at various eleva- 
tions, as well as the insufficiency of acreages planted, 
account for the big movements of maize in trade. 
Highland milpas yield their greatest volume between 
December and February. Lowland maize is har- 
vested first from August to October, the heaviest 
crop; then secondarily in February and March (see 
