32 



THE LAND 



in canoes ; but few of the Indians do this now, and 

 never commercially. 



It may be concluded that as far as the economy 

 of the Panajachel Indians is concerned, if a magic 

 wand should cause the lake to disappear overnight, 

 it would hardly be missed. 



WILD FAUNA 



There are a few large animals in the hills of the 

 municipio, and in neighbormg hills where Pana- 

 jachelenos hunt as freely: deer, coyotes, wildcats, 

 and "honey bears." (See Glossary.) Tlie meat 

 and/or skins and other parts are valued. The 

 Indians generally do not hunt this large game, 

 although Ladinos, who own rifles, do. 



There are more smaller animals. Rabbits, 

 skunks, opossums, and weasels are to be found 

 both in the hills and on the delta. They are 

 killed when possible, for they damage the crops; 

 but except that the weasel's skin has some value, 

 they cannot be used for anything. Porcupines, 

 taltttzas, coatis, raccoons, armadillos, tepescuintles, 

 and squirrels are found in the hills. They are 

 occasionally hunted, and the meat of the last four 

 eaten ; skins of raccoons, tepescuintles, and squirrels 

 and the shell of the armadillo are used or sold; 

 the penis bone of the raccoon or coati has special 

 uses. It may be doubted, however, whether from 

 one year to the next more than a dozen of all of 

 these animals are killed. 



Birds are more numerous. Besides the water- 

 fowl, 44 kinds were described as being very 

 common. Of these, 16 are found in the delta 

 portion, 21 in the delta and the hills as well, and 

 6 exclusively in the hills; one migratory species 

 simply passes over Panajachel twice a year. 

 Most kinds the Indians, particularly the small 

 boys, occasionally capture or kill. One man 

 estimated that his family killed 80 birds in a year. 

 A bird not hunted is the carrion buzzard which 

 is of no use dead (except in a cure for madness) 

 and of very considerable value alive. Some 

 birds are killed not because their parts are utiliz- 

 able but because they are dangerous alive; such 

 for example, are the grackles which prey on the 

 cornfields, and the hawks which prey on barn- 

 yard fowl. On the other hand, Indians will not 

 usually kill birds that are considered augiu-s of 

 iU because they fear the supernatiu-al conse- 

 quences; or birds otherwise "dangerous," like one 

 supposed to change into a snake when about to be 



caught; or others, like the swallow, because they 

 are holy. In these cases, however, the Indians 

 also say they woidd have no use for the birds 

 killed or captured. Twenty-two species are listed 

 as edible, and said to be killed and eaten. Fifteen 

 are specifically said not to be edible, five of these 

 "because they feed on insects" (but so do a few 

 edible birds), two "because they eat e.xcrement," 

 and one snakes; two others are birds of ill-omen, 

 and one is connected with sickness; the swallow 

 is not eaten because of its saintlike character. 

 In the cases of three birds (including the buzzard 

 and the chicken hawk) no reason was given. 



A few birds have medicinal and other uses. 

 A few are caught and caged; but if the Indians 

 catch them they usually sell them to Ladinos, 

 for the Indians themselves almost never keep 

 caged birds (except pigeons) in the house. 



Few Indians own guns, licensed expensively 

 by the Government. Sticks and stones and 

 machetes are the commonplace weapons. A few 

 blowguns (through whi(-h pebbles are shot) are 

 used to kiU birds, but the most commonly used 

 weapon for birds and small animals is the sling- 

 shot, an<l most of the men and h)oys are adept in 

 its use. It is a forked branch thi'ough which a 

 stone or large seed is hurled with the aid of rubber 

 bands made from inner tulles and bought in the 

 market place. Indians know but do not have 

 hunting dogs, although they take their ordinary 

 dogs when they hunt the larger animals. Traps 

 are used, not to capture game for food, but to 

 protect fields and barnyard. Thus, coyotes are 

 caught in pitfalls with roosters and corn as bait; 

 grackles are usually caught by tying kernels of 

 corn to a string so that when they swallow the 

 corn they are held fast; rats and mice and some 

 of the larger animals that invade the cornfields 

 are caught in a variety of deadfalls. Boys catch 

 songbirds to sell to Ladinos by smearmg on the 

 branches of trees a sticky substance made from 

 bird lime which holds the l)irds fast. 



Relatively few snakes (probably not poisonous) 

 are to be found in the neighborhood. The Indians 

 do not mind killing them, but the meat is not 

 eaten; or other parts used. The several varieties 

 of lizards found locally are not used and are usually 

 avoided as poisonous. Frogs and toads are also 

 for the most part avoided. 



Insects are abundant, but except for bee culture 

 and the use of insects in certain remedies, the 



