82 



LAND OWNERSHIP AND PRACTICES 



rental period is a year or only a season. In the 

 case of truck land, on the other hand, the time is 

 important. While most frequently the land is 

 rented for a whole year, there are cases of rentals 

 for but 3 or 4 months — the growing season for 

 onions. One rich Indian habitually rents out 

 land only for the bean-growing season (4 months) 

 in exchange for one cornfield stint of labor for each 

 cuerda rented. Between bean seasons, he plants 

 corn on the land. Coffee land is never rented be- 

 cause, of course, the annual crop is almost pure 

 profit. 



Very often a renter keeps the same land year 

 after year. This is convenient for both parties; 

 certainly the renter planting onions finds it in- 

 convenient to break into the annual cycle at any 

 point. On the other hand, pepino growers usually 

 rent a difi'ereut piece of land each j'ear in the con- 

 viction that "new" land gives a better crop. The 

 most common practice among Indian renters is to 

 seek to rent appropriate land for a particular pur- 

 pose. The fact that each tends to rotate crops 

 after a favorite pattern is a motive to keep one 

 piece of land for several years. 



The right to harvest a crop still growing when 

 the rental period is over, appears to be recognized 

 by the Indians. In 1936 an Indian pawned a 

 piece of truck land to a Ladino who then rented it 

 on an annual basis to another Indian. In 1941 

 the land was redeemed and the Indian owner took 

 possession. The renter had harvested a crop of 

 beans, but still had sweet cassava growing on the 

 edges of the tablones. He worried over what 

 might become of it, but the owner recognized his 

 right to the plants; he planted corn and no techni- 

 cal problem was presented. 



In 1936 there were 72 pieces of land rented by 

 the Indians. Of these, 43 involved cash rental. 

 Seven cases required the payment to the land- 

 owner of half the crop. All these involved delta 

 land, but in one the land was used only for corn. 

 The other 22 cases required payment in labor — 

 the planting of coffee or shade trees, or a certain 

 number of stints in the cornfield or the cofJee 

 grove. In general it may be said that the renter 

 comes out most favorably by paying cash, and 

 least favorably Ijy sharing his harvest. Payment 

 with lal)or is cheaper than cash when the owner 

 rents cheaply to assure himself labor when he needs 

 it. Table 14 summarizes the cost of the rental in 

 the various arrangements recorded. 



Neither the very rich (who have more of their 

 own than they can manage) nor the very poor 

 (who have neither the monej' to rent land nor the 

 time to work it) rent much land. Land renting 

 as it relates to wealth is discussed in the section 

 on Land and Wealth (pp. 192-193). 



LAND VALUES 



How much Panajachel land is worth depends 

 first of all on its kind and location. Hill land 

 useful only for cornfield is worth less than hill 

 land that is relatively level, or has a water supply, 

 and can be used for coffee or truck. Delta land 

 is worth more than hill land, but delta land good 

 only for cornfield is worth much less than delta 

 land suitable for vegetable growing. Land on 

 wliich coffee is standing is worth more than any 

 other kind. In recent years, land along the lake 

 shore has become especially valuable. Land in 

 the center of town, where the Ladinos have their 

 stores and houses, is more valuable than other 

 land except that on the lake shore. Furthermore, 

 there is one scale of prices (however vague) for 

 sales of land to Ladinos and foreigners, especially 

 by Ladinos, and quite a different scale governing 

 sales within the Indian community. Finally, the 

 price of land perhaps more than anything else is 

 influenced by particular circumstances surround- 

 ing each sale. Thus, an Indian in sudden need 

 who can obtain monej' only by selling a piece of 

 land is not likely to get as much as another who is 

 approached to sell a piece that he would just as 

 soon keep. 



Although I shall evaluate lands by standards of 



Table 14. — Rental cosls in 1938 



1 Value of libor and seed invested in the balf paid as rent. 

 ' Value of the crop of the half paid as rent. 

 > Per acre-crop, or fur 4 months' use. 

 * Per acre-year. 



