154 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
Pepino, melon pear, Solanum muricatum, S. guatemalense, 
shaped usually like a pointed egg, yellowish with purple 
stripes; smaller than the average South American 
pepino, which often tends to be globular, sometimes 
nearly all purple. 
Pepitoria, candy made with squash seeds. 
Percha, teasel, for raising nap on wool cloth; 12 to 15 teasel 
flowers tied in a rigid, cane-braced fan, the stems form- 
ing the handle. 
Peso, obsolete monetary unit worth 60 to the dollar at the 
time the quetzal was introduced, in 1924; the peso was 
worth 8 reales, or 100 centavos bronce; was in circula- 
tion almost to the extent of quetzal units in some rural 
communities as late as 1933; the peso and real are still 
employed to some extent as “verbal” units of currency 
in Indian markets. 
Petate de palma, palm leaf mat. 
Petate tul, rush mat. 
Pey6on, shaggy wool rug having a pile surface (as in terry 
cloth), made by pulling out 6-inch loops in the weft 
yarn and later cutting them in two, leaving 3-inch ends. 
Piedra de moler, metate, or tripod grinding stone made of 
lava, for grinding maize, cacao, coffee, and other 
comestibles; potter’s clay, dyestuffs, etc. 
Pila, a watering place, usually of concrete or stone. 
Piloy, lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) in the Lowlands; but- 
ter bean (Phaseolus coccineus) or giant kidney bean 
(Phaseolus vulgaris, var. macrocarpa) in the Highlands. 
Pinta, pineapple (Ananas comosus). 
Pinole, or pinol, drink made of ground toasted maize, vari- 
ously flavored and seasoned with cacao, patarte, 
aniseed, panela or white sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and 
other condiments. Whole barley, prized for medicinal 
values, is sometimes added. (See p. 148.) 
Pinion, small tree, physic-nut (Jatropha curcas) important 
as the main host plant of the arin (scale insect, q. v.). 
hence a major hedge plant at Rabinal, where the avin is 
cultivated. 
Pifiuela, pinguin (Bromelia pinguin), a wild relative of the 
pineapple; hedge plant, source of an inferior fruit. 
Piso de plaza (lit. “market floor”), tax; from 3 to 20 
cents (average probably 5) imposed on market vendors 
who have no fixed, rented stall. 
Pitafloja, “silk-grass” (Aechmea magdalenae) which pro- 
duces a fine, durable fiber much used locally in the 
Pacific Lowlands, as at San Sebastian for sewing 
suwyacales, and elsewhere for nets and cordage. 
Platano, plantain, a banana (Musa paradisiaca), having 
large fruit ordinarily eaten cooked. 
Plaza, market or market place; also a public square. 
Pom, small disk of copal incense (gq. v.). 
Posole or posol, cold drink made of cold corn mash 
(ground boiled corn) stirred into water, variously 
seasoned. 
“Pound” of raw wool, 80 ounces, or 5 pounds, avoirdupois. 
Pueblo, village, generally the cabecera, or seat of a muni- 
cipio of the same name; larger than an aldea in the 
same municipio, and less important than a villa. 
Quetzal, national bird of Guatemala; a trogon (Pharoma- 
crus mocinno), the male of which is noted for its 
beautiful long, green upper tail coverts, important in 
pre-Columbian commerce. 
unit (1 quetzal = 1 dollar). 
Quintal, unit of weight; as in Mexico, 46.025 kg., or 101.47 
pounds. 
Ranchero, or colono, laborer (generally Indian) who has 
taken up permanent residence on a ‘fica, or plantation, 
Ranchito, small, rustic hut. 
Reducci6n, as applied in the years following the Conquest, 
the grouping of native populations into more compact 
communities, after evicting them from their scattered 
rural dwellings, for greater ease of religious conversion 
and government by the encomenderos, or conquerors to 
whom they were entrusted. 
Regidor, alderman; member of the municipal council. 
Repartimiento, distribution of land among the conquerors 
of Spanish America after the Conquest; also, the feudal 
estates which were thus apportioned. 
Riscos, crags; specifically applied to the pinnacled erosion 
forms at Momostenango. 
Rodillera, checkered black-and-white or blue-and-white wool 
wrap-skirts worn about to the knee (rodilla) by Indian 
men of. some municipios; also sometimes worn by young 
girls. 
Rosquitos, small ring-shaped buns. 
Roza, process of clearing trees, bushes, and weeds from a 
field about to be planted; usually involving cutting and 
burning. 
Sacachian, or tzichipac, fruit (bunch of dark purple ber- 
ries) of a pokeweed (Phytolacca rugosa), used as soap,” 
especially for washing blue skirts. 
Sacatinta, cuajatinta, or tinta, bluing plant (Jacobinia 
spicigera), fresh leaves of which are made into an 
infusion in water to which indigo and usually some 
aniline dye are added. When fermentation of the solu- 
tion has taken place, after 1 or 2 weeks, the dye is 
ready for use. 
Sal de sol, sun-evaporated salt, made at the Pacific shore 
during the dry season. 
Sapuyul, large, blackish, shiny seed of the zapote mamey 
or ingerto (q. v.), used in beverages and in making 
soap. 
Sindico municipal, attorney and legal adviser to the political 
chiefs of a municipio. 
Sisal, or henequén, agave or the fiber, sometimes called 
hemp, obtained from various agaves, most important of 
which is Agave fourcroydes which supplies the greater 
part of the Yucatan sisal; A. sisalana is the principal 
sisal source outside of Yucatan. 
Sivdc, rush pith, used in making fire fans, deep, handled 
market bags, mats, etc. 
Soga, large agave rope, generally used as a halter. 
Sopilote (sometimes zopilote), American black vulture 
(Catharista atrata), or the turkey-buzzard (Cathartes 
aura), which is relatively rare and conspicuous for its 
red head; both valuable as scavengers, and protected 
by law. 
Stick (back-strap) loom, indigenous loom operated ordin- 
arily by Indian women, never by Ladinas; it consists 
of sticks and strings and a broad strap (mecapal) which 
passes around the weaver’s hips and against which she 
sits or squats so as to give tension to the warp. The 
Also, the modern monetary 
