134 



CONSUMER GOODS 



where the people of Panajachel also buy frequently. 

 The general stores carry a great variety of staples. 

 Some necessities, like kerosene and such hardware 

 as machetes, hoes, etc., can be bought no other 

 place. Other items such as dry goods, cotton, silk 

 and wool yarns, straw hats, dishes and cutleiy, and 

 such food staples as coffee, lard, paneta, sugar, 

 chocolate, bread, maize, beans, chile, spices, and 

 salt are found both in the stores and in the market 

 place. Some items such as furniture, pottery, 

 baskets, mats, pitch wood, raw cotton, fruit, 

 vegetables, and fowl, etc., are not usually stocked 

 by the stores. 



Prices in the stores tend to be fixed, but bar- 

 gaining is usually possible. They tend also to be 

 higher than in the market place, often on such 

 important items as corn from 25 to 50 percent 

 higher.'" Panajachel Indians never buy large 

 quantities of commodities in the stores. If they 

 wish to stock up on corn, panela, or sugar, for 

 example, they do so when they can buy more 

 cheaply in the market place. In fact, the stores 

 sell such commodities mainly to poor people who 

 buy from day to day as they get a few cents. 

 Typically store purchases amount to a few cents. 

 Thus an Indian buys a penny's worth of panela at 

 one store because "there they give a good portion 

 for a penny," a penny's worth of kerosene in 

 another store because "they give more for the 

 money," and a half-pound of meat (2)^ cents). 

 It costs more to buy in stores and in such quanti- 

 ties; yet probably most Indian families do it 

 some of the time, and a few do it regularly. 



The several Ladino bakers in town sell their 

 goods through the stores. Indians who have bread 

 for breakfast usually patronize them, and con- 

 siderable quantities are bought for ceremonial 

 gifts and religious rituals. For Holy Week, when 

 everybody consumes much bread, the bakers 

 begin long in advance, and others who know the 

 trade (including some Indians) also bake. Fre- 

 quently Indians and Ladinos both buy the mate- 

 rials (flour, eggs, lard, etc.) and pay the bakers to 

 make their bread. 



Liquor, for sale only at Government-licensed 

 dispensaries, is sold by the barril, the demijohn 

 (a half barril, 11 "bottles"), the "bottle," (which, 

 I believe, is 24 ounces of liquid), in sealed litres, 



I" There are eiceptions. of course. Very often prices on dry goods seem 

 higher in the market than in the store; but of course an experienced native 

 bargainer may do better than an outsider. 



half litres, quarter litres, and eighth litres. The 

 larger quantities are usually bought in Solol^. In 

 1936 and 1937 it was possible to buy liquor by the 

 glass at the counter. After that only sealed litres, 

 half, quarter, and eighth litres, could be sold 

 legally, to be drunk off the premises. Two kinds 

 of liquor are sold : olla (distilled in pottery vessels) 

 and alambique, a cheaper grade distilled in copper 

 kettles; the Indians usually buy the latter. It is 

 not impossible privately to buy illicit liquor which 

 is not only cheaper but being oUa, better. The 

 stores and taverns also sell beer and soft drinks, 

 which are occasionally bought by the Indians. 



The butcher shops sell only beef. Each is open 

 3 or 4 days of the week, or until the current animal 

 is sold. Although the butchers try to alternate, 

 there are times when for a day or two one would 

 have to go to Solola to buy meat. Pork and 

 mutton are sold in the market place on market 

 days. Several Ladinos and Indians sell the mUk 

 of their cows, delivering it to customers; it is 

 nowhere regularly for sale. Indians rarely buy 

 milk. 



Adobe makers, masons, carpenters, etc., work 

 on order only. Bricks and tiles need to be ordered 

 from artisans in other towns, notably San Andres. 

 A Ladino blacksmith in Panajachel shoes horses, 

 mends equipment, and makes some articles to 

 order. Two gasoline filling stations Ln 1936 

 served mainly the tourists. Indians bought from 

 them gasoline tins, for sale also in stores and from 

 large users of gasoline and kerosene. 



MARKET BUYING 



Most of the purchases of the Indians are made 

 in the market places that they frequent, especially 

 Solola on Friday. Solola has a lively market, 

 with merchants coming from many towns in the 

 highlands and all around the lake. Almost any- 

 thing is available there, and often at low prices. 

 The Panajachel Sunday market, not more than 

 10 percent as large as the Sololi Friday market, 

 with its smaller selection and frequently higher 

 prices, is patronized mainly by Ladinos and by 

 Indian families that do not sell in Solola or other 

 markets. Indians who go to sell in markets 

 farther away, meanwhile take advantage of their 

 opportunities to buy the things there that are 

 cheaper than in Solola or at home. Thus, for 

 example, lime is bought in Tecpan, corn in Tecp4n 

 or Patztin, and so on. 



