10 



THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 



There was in 1936 only one household in which 

 an unrelated person, a man, lived with the family; 

 but there were four families with domestics and 

 hired hands, all of them foreig:n Indians in the 

 service of Panajachelefios. 



Although there are evidences that in generations 

 past there was some kind of kinship or local unit 

 consisting of more than one household, today the 

 household is the only functioning social entity 

 within the community. True, familial relations 

 that cut across households in bdateral kinship 

 lines are recognized by formal visiting and gift 

 giving, as are also god-parental relationsliips; but 

 they do not crystallize into social segments. The 

 only effective social segment is the individual 

 household, whatever its constitution. That this 

 is so can be most clearly seen in the light of the 

 politico-religious organization. 



Like the other municipos of Guatemala, all of 

 which are from the point of view of the central 

 government the smallest important administrative 

 units, Panajachel has a series of governmental 

 officials, some appointed and some theoretically 

 elected. Generations back, before there were 

 Ladinos, all officials (except a Secretary) were 

 Indians, as they still are in other pure-Indian 

 towns. Before 1935, when a new system was 

 invoked, all were chosen from and by the local 

 populace. After the Ladinos came, they were 

 given certain of the highest offices; but the Indians 

 continued to fill all offices unofficially from their 

 own ranks. After 1935, when some of the offices 

 were abolished and others became appointive 

 from above and outside the community, the In- 

 dians continued to name a complete roster of 

 officials; but then fewer of them were officially 

 recognized.* It was still possible, however, to 

 speak of Indian officialdom as consisting of a first 

 alcalde, second alcalde, first and second regidores, 

 first and second regidores ayudantes, first and 

 second auxiliar, first, second, thii'd, and fourth 

 mayores, and 24 ungraded alguaciles. There were, 

 thus, 36 civil offices to be filled. 



At the same time, there are a series of religious 

 offices in the Indian organization, none of which 

 is officially recognized. These are connected with 

 the church (of which there is no resident priest) 

 and the cult of the saints. There are the first and 

 second fiscales, first and second sacr-istanes, 



* In 1944, with the revolution, the Wgn\ system changed again in the pre- 

 lOS.'i direction. 



cofrades of each of four cofradias, and two or three 

 graded mayordomos of each cofradia, for a total 

 of rehgious officials of about 16 (in 1936, 15). The 

 2 classes, civil and religious, are only partially 

 separable, however. In the system of succession 

 in the liierarchy the Indians alternate between the 

 2, and all offices are gi'aded in a single hierarchy. 



The Indian officials, at least insofar as the In- 

 dians have anything to say, are neither elected 

 nor, strictly spealdng, appointed. The elders 

 (principales, who have passed through the suc- 

 cession) and the liigher officials together choose 

 the new officials each year; but since a person is 

 not eligible to serve in an office until he has served 

 in a lower one and since he is not obliged to accept 

 an office imless he has had a period of rest after 

 his previous service, the choice is limited, and often 

 automatic. Holding office entads pecuniaiy dis- 

 advantage, and when there is doubt as to who 

 shoidd get one, a poorer man can avoid it more 

 easily than a richer man. 



What the system finally amounts to is that 

 almost every man (together with liis wife) gradu- 

 ally moves up through the series of offices, but in 

 any one year a man does not take an office unless 

 it is his turn. The point of the relationship be- 

 tween the family orgaiiization and the politico- 

 religious system is that "turns" are taken not by 

 individuals or blood-kin groups, but by house- 

 holds. There are some 52 offices to be filled an- 

 nually, nearly all of them every year, and 132 

 Panajachel households from which to fill them, 

 no household normally has more than 1 office- 

 holder at a time, and after a person finishes his 

 term no other member of his household is expected 

 to serve for at least another year. 



In the same manner, contributions of money for 

 fiestas and of labor on public works come from 

 whole households, not individuals (i. e., a house- 

 hold, no matter the size, might be asked to contrib- 

 ute one man-day of labor to repair irrigation 

 ditches) . 



The household is therefore the primary social 

 unit. By definition it is also an economic vmit, 

 since it includes those who live under one roof, 

 or in one compound, and have a common kitchen. 

 But there is lacking in both the native ideology 

 and in family practice any complete economic 

 community. Each member of the family tends 

 to own property and to keep track of his own earn- 

 ings and contributions for common needs. Never- 



