THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE 



125 



Table 45. — Summary of Panajachel vendors in weekday 

 market {1937) 



While their husbands or brothers are oflF to dis- 

 tant markets, or doing the heavy garden work, 

 good wives (or sisters or daughters) bring to mar- 

 ket the produce of the fields — onions, garlic, 

 oranges, limas, and avocados, and so on, and thus 

 do their bit selling where they can. Needless to 

 say, selling in the market has its social and pleas- 

 m-able aspects. Wives of rich men rather than of 

 the poor are those who come to sell in the market 

 during the week — partly because they are not 

 needed in the fields, partly because they do not 

 take longer trips to other markets. Although 

 men do not sell or even frequent the local market 

 place, they often bring to the doorway the mer- 

 chandise to be sold by their wives and daughters. 

 The number of women who come to the market 

 varies not only with the day of the week, and also 

 with the season, but also with the time of year 

 with respect to the religious calendar. During a 

 fiesta in Solola, for example, with its accompanying 

 large market, few women frequent the local 

 market place; they have gone to SoloM, and so 

 have most potential buyers. On October 4, the 

 local titular fiesta, they bring to market prepared 

 food and refreshment rather than ordinary prod- 

 uce. The only time of the year when there is 

 no market at aU is during the last of Holy Week, 

 especially Holy Thursday and Good Friday. 



OUTSIDE MARKETS 



Needless to say, most of the produce of Pana- 

 jachel eventually reaches markets in other towns. 

 Much sold at retail in the local market is bought 

 by merchants who resell it elsewhere, and all that 

 outsiders buy in wholesale quantities from indi- 

 vidual producers is exported. However, most 

 Panajachel Indians themselves market their prod- 

 uce in other towns, close and far. There is no 



shame attached to selling by either sex in other 

 towns. Some travel to several markets at regular 

 intervals, and devote a large proportion of their 

 time to such merchandising. Others, for the most 

 part those with larger landholdings, sell at whole- 

 sale to outsiders who come to Panajachel (or to 

 other Panajacheleiios to take abroad) or in smaller 

 quantities in nearby markets. 



Of the 155 Indian households, 110 regularly sell 

 local produce in markets of other towns. It must 

 be emphasized that table 43 lists only regular 

 visits (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) recognized 

 by the community in general. Other markets are 

 occasionally visited,'"" and many more households 

 are occasionally represented in the towns listed."" 

 Not only do certain households habitually go to 

 certain markets, but particular members of the 

 households are generally known to go (table 46). 

 Thus, the Solola market is a family market, the 

 household frequently going en masse on Fridays. 

 Thus, also, the only markets that women generally 

 attend at all are those of Solola and San Andres. 

 The more distant markets are frequented by indi- 

 vidual men, a man and his son, or two or three 

 brothers of the household. But also, while certain 

 members of the family patronize one series of 

 markets, others as regularly attend others. Thus, 

 while the husband may sell in Tecpan or on the 

 coast, his wife may go to San Andres. It is 

 because of this duplication that the 110 households 

 that sell in outside markets are actually repre- 

 sented by 149 vending groups. 



Most produce taken out of town is grown by the 

 vendor (table 46) but the proportion is much less 

 than in the case of the local market, for many 

 people make businesses of buying produce from 

 others here (in rare cases from other towns) to 

 sell in distant markets. In general it may be said 

 that the rich sell only their o^vn goods, and the 

 poor, not having much of their own, have to buy 

 at least some of what they sell. So also merchan- 

 dise that is bought tends to go to the more distant 



■00 Especially during their annual fiestas, when even the smallest of towns 

 attract merchants. Thus, for example, the village of San Jorgi has no regular 

 marliet, but on January 24 many vendors go there. In 1937, when that day 

 fell on Sunday, the Panajachel market was very small because so many of 

 the usual vendors had gone to San Jorgfi Instead. 



'y' Also generally on fiesta occasions. Thus, on the days of their Saints, 

 such towns as Patziin are patronized by many more Panajacheleiios than 

 are indicated in table 49. During Holy Week the whole marketing pro- 

 gram is altered, for diflerent towns traditionally celebrate days of that week 

 and of Lent by extraordinarily huge markets which attract special numbers 

 of merchants. In 1937, for example, there was a great market in Tecpta, 

 on March 22, and one in Sololi next day. Chichicasteaango regularly has a 

 very large market on Palm Sunday. 



