CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTHWEST GUATEMALA—McBRYDE 153 
Maguey de laso or de pita, any species of Agane which 
yields fiber usable in making cords and ropes. 
Maiz, maize (Zea mays) ; this name was brought in by the 
Spaniards from the West Indies. Jrim is the word 
for maize in almost all of the 22 or more Maya dialects. 
Malacate, small wooden spindle; for cotton, about 12 inches 
long, with spherical clay or wooden whorl near one end 
(bottom when spinning) ; for wool, about 18 inches long, 
with wooden disk whorl, generally used by men (pl. 
19, d). 
Manaco, see Corozo. 
Mani, or (Mex.) cacahuate; peanut. 
Manioc, or cassava, plants of the genus Manihot having 
edible roots that are high in starch, especially the bitter 
species (M. utilissima, main source of tapioca) ; sweet 
manioc (M. dulcis) is the one commonly grown in this 
region, and eaten as a boiled vegetable. 
Mano, slightly fusiform cylindrical stone grinder, held in 
two hands like a rolling pin and scraped over metate, 
or basal stone. 
Masa, ground nixtamal; corn mash. 
Mata, cluster of plants of the same kind, as a hill of maize. 
Matasano, or zapote blanco, tree (Casimiroa edulis), or its 
edible fruit. 
Matate, a kind of small carrying bag, with two nor 
handles, generally made of rush pith (sivdc). 
Matz, a wild kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) which grows 
in abundance at San Antonio Huista; reported also near 
Guatemala City. 
Maxefio (-a), Indian man or woman of Santo Tomas 
Chichicastenango. 
Mecapal, tumpline; broad forehead strap with ropes at- 
tached. 
Mecate, maguey (agave) cord. 
Melocoton, peach; also, a Lowland cucurbit 
odorifera). 
Mescal agave, any of the various agaves yielding edible 
buds and leaf bases, which are sweet when roasted. 
Mesothermal winter-dry climate (Cw, Koppen), inter- 
mediate temperatures (monthly means are between 0 
and 18° C.); rains are fairly heavy in summer (May 
through October), with the winter half year almost 
completely dry. 
Milpa, cornfield, which may contain other crops inter- 
planted; sometimes (esp. as “milpitas’”) may refer also 
to individual plants. 
Miltomate, husk-cherry or groundcherry (Physalis spp.) ; 
low-growing plant with small, greenish, tomatolike 
edible berry. 
Mimbre, osier, or willow (Salix spp.) tree, or its flexible 
twigs used for baskets, chairs, etc. 
Molinillo, small wooden hand mill, usually four-bladed, held 
vertically between the flat palms of the hands in stirring 
chocolate to froth. 
Molote, fusiform ball of wool yarn on a caiton (cane spool) 
as it comes from the spinning wheel, and as it often 
appears in the market. 
Morral, a bag generally made of agave fiber, of moderate 
size and with long string handles for hanging the bag 
from a saddle. 
(Cicana 
Morro, large globular or ovoid tree calabash (Crescentia 
alata). 
Mozo, day laborer or servant. 
Mulatto, distinct racial cross involving principally white and 
Negro blood. 
Municipalidad, municipal offices encharged with the affairs 
of the municipio, 
Municipalidad indigena, governing body of Indian officials 
who look after Indian interests where this population 
element is large in a municipio. 
Municipio, smallest political unit, containing usually a 
cabecera, or chief village or town of the same name, 
one or more aldeas, or rural settlements, and the scat- 
tered houses and fields of individual planters (or plan- 
tations in certain sections). 
Nance, tree (Byrsonima crassifolia) important for small, 
yellow, edible fruit and tanbark, 
Nispero, or Chicozapote, naseberry, or sapodilla. tree 
(Achras zapota), source of chicle, or chewing gum. 
Nixtamal, grains of corn softefted by boiling in lime water. 
Nopal, prickly pear, or,tuna; cochineal “fig” or cactus 
(Nopalea cochenillifera) or other species of Nopalea or 
Opuntia. 
Ocote, pitch pine splints, used for-torches and for starting 
fires; also, the tree, various species of Pinus, especially 
teocote. 
Olote, corn cob. 
Pacaya, small palm (Chamaedorea spp.) with an ale 
flower of economic importance. 
Pajizo, adj., grass-thatched. 
Pajon, large sedgelike grass, especially the bunchgrass 
(Muhlenbergia sp.) of high altitudes, often dominant 
above 2,500 m. 
Palma del mar, fan palm (Jnodes sp.) growing near the 
Pacific shore and there much used for roof thatch. 
Palo amarillo, tree (Chlorophora tinctorta) with yellowish 
wood from which a yellow dye is derived. 
Palo de campeche, or palo de tinte, dark-blue (“black’’) 
dyewood (logwood, Haematoxylum campechianum), 
important in dyeing wool yarn; the wood, which looks 
dark red after exposure to the air, is sold by the pound. 
Pan dulce, small bun made with white flour and egg, and 
slightly sweetened. 
Panela, brown block sugar made by pouring heated cane 
juice into a mold. 
Pan francés, small, crusty loaf of white wheat bread. 
Papa, Irish potato. 
Papaya, the tree-melon, or pawpaw, fruit of the papayo tree 
(Carica papaya) ; the name is a Carib derivative, there 
being no Nahua and almost no Maya names known. 
Park-savanna, landscape characterized by grasses with 
scattered spreading trees and deciduous woodlands. 
Pataxte, tree (Theobroma bicolor) closely related to cacao, 
with a similar fruit, sometimes used as an ingredient 
in beverages, even as an inferior cacao substitute, and as 
a cacao shade tree. 
Paxte, sponge, or “dishcloth,” 
tiaca). 
Penga or penca, fleshy, thorny leaf of a cactus, agave, or 
similar plant. 
gourd, luffa (Luffa aegyp- 
