THE LAND 



29 



possibly more mischief, of course — or more pro- 

 duction, which usually means a higher lev^el of 

 living; or, more important still, it will make easier 

 the education of children which, eventually — 

 given the reasonably practical rural educational 

 system that one can without danger forecast — ■ 

 will facOitate the introduction of new agricultural 

 and industrial techniques which will in turn agam 

 raise the level of living and give new impetus to 

 the whole process. 



This is bound to happen in Guatemala; and if 

 the social system permits the rural Indians their 

 share of such improvement, physical conditions 

 will surely improve. The point is, however, that 

 the improvement will be the effect not of the 

 economic system as such, but of improvement in 

 tools of production and communication. It seems 

 clear enough that no matter how successful the 

 individuals of a society may be in pursuing their 

 own interests, they will not increase the wealth of 

 that society unless they have something with 

 which to increase it. 



This is doubtless not a new observation, 



although I have never seen or heard it expressed; 

 but it seems to me to come out rather dramatically 

 in the Guatemalan situation here described. I am 

 led to observe also that it is perhaps a significant 

 fact of our social history that modern economic 

 theory had its beginnings in a period of increasing 

 technological perfection. Probably no economic 

 system could have prevented the increase in the 

 wealth of industrial nations. Yet, because of the 

 coincidence in time — if it was a coincidence, which 

 it probably was not — this increase in wealth has 

 been attributed at least in part to the effectiveness 

 of the economic system from which, it was pre- 

 dicted, it would result. If the economists had 

 been living not in Europe or America but in 

 western Guatemala these past two hundred 

 years, they could not have credited to free compe- 

 tition the glory that progress in technology 

 has deserved. But of course if they had lived 

 in Guatemala, they would not have been econo- 

 mists — they would have been very enterprising 

 peddlers. 



THE LAND 



NATURAL RESOURCES 



If "nature peoples" are contrasted with "city 

 peoples," with the criterion simply the directness 

 of the use of natm-al resources, Panajachel 

 probably falls closer to the artificiality of the city 

 than it does to nature. Although the Indians are 

 dependent upon the vagaries of nature, live close 

 to the elements, and are reasonably adapted to 

 the climate, their positive direct utilization of 

 what the wild flora and fauna offer is slight. In a 

 statistical sense the products of the wild play 

 virtually no part in the economy. 



The Indians realize fully their dependence on 

 the orderly processes of nature. They fear the 

 end of the world, which may come from flood or 

 an eclipse of the sun or moon or from a violent 

 earthquake. But except that such fears may 

 encourage prayer and some avoidance of sin, they 

 hardly affect daily life. The Indians avoid 

 lightning and sharp winds when possible. When 

 rain or drought is untimely, and the erodmg river 

 becomes unruly and threatens the town, thej' call 

 upon all of the spiritual resources available. 

 Wlien sickness comes, they often exhaust not only 

 their spiritual but their material resources. 



Some beliefs about nature materially affect 

 everyday life. For example, the physiology of 

 plants and animals changes with the phases of the 

 moon so that lumber is cut and corn harvested 

 chiefly diu-ing alternate fortnights. Or, because 

 supernatural beings are abroad at night, com- 

 merce tends to cease at nightfall. But in the 

 main, economic procedures are dictated by 

 practical considerations — even on our stand- 

 ards — alone. This is least true when the pro- 

 cedures concern elements old in the culture and 

 close to the basis of life (such as corn) and most 

 true with newer elements and those whose value 

 is reckoned only in terms of money (such as 

 oranges or onions). But it is a strong tendency 

 tlu-oughout. The following discussion of the 

 Indian adjustment to his surroundings can there- 

 fore be made largely by economic criteria; for 

 although in Panajachel action is grounded in a 

 matrix of presuppositions distinct from those of 

 our culture, it is guided by what we regard as the 

 practical. 



CLIMATE 



The seasonal rain is essential to cornfield agri- 

 culture and saves watering of the irrigated gardens. 



