CONSUMER GOODS 



149 



at Panajachel holding about 3 gallons; the smaller 

 jars are used by the children. A woman or girl 

 carries the jar on her head and wades into the 

 lake or river to fill it. At times when the river 

 water is not clean, water is fetched from the lake 

 even if it is far. In the west delta practically 

 nobody uses lake water, for on the one hand the 

 town's system of public fountains is available, 

 while the lake shore is for the most part occupied 

 by Ladino houses; the river and irrigation ditches 

 and several springs are the main sources of water. 

 The average family uses two or three jars of water 

 daily; depending upon the distance, each trip 

 takes from 5 or 10 minutes to a half hour. In 

 household 49, 2 jars of water are used; the gro\vn 

 daughter usually makes 2 trips to the lake, 15 

 minutes each, in the afternoon before preparing 

 supper. Young girls, using smaller jars, need to 

 make more trips, and are usually slower. Since 

 there are many watering places there is very little 

 loitering and gossiping incidental to this work. 



The few dishes and cooking vessels are washed 

 in the nearest irrigation ditch in a matter of a 

 few minutes after each meal. The younger 

 daughter of household 49 does this; but when 

 the whole family is to go to the fields, and are in 

 a hurry, the women do it. 



Table 58. — Time devoted to kitchen work, 1936 



Task 



Carrying wntor 



Washinc dishes 



Buildinp Are and cooking 



Cleaning iiouse 



Laundering .__ 



Total 



Time devoted (by women and girls) 



Average number of 

 minutes daily, 

 per household 



Women 



25 



10 



420 



6 



20 



480 



a iris 

 under 14 



150 



Total number of 9- 

 hour days in com- 

 munity 



Women 



2,660 



1,064 



44,GS8 



532 



2,128 



51, 072 



Girls 

 under 14 



2,128 

 1,596 

 9.576 

 2,660 



15, 960 



The fire is kindled in the morning. In this 

 particular case the family (first the women) 

 usually rise at 5 a. m. (for years by an alarm clock 

 that I gave them), and the fire is kindled immedi- 

 ately. It takes 5 or 10 minutes to get it hot and 

 put on the pot of coffee. Then the nixtamal '*" 

 (which was boiled the night before) is washed in a 

 nearby irrigation ditch to remove the lime in 

 which the corn was boiled. This takes 10 minutes. 



At least in household 49 some leftovers are then 

 warmed for breakfast, which is ready at 6:30. 

 In actual work to this time about an hour of a 

 woman's time and, perhaps, a half hour of a young 

 girl's are taken.'" 



Normally the woman and children are then left 

 alone. In the particular case there is frequently 

 work in the fields for the wife, so the grown 

 daughter is left in charge of the kitchen. If there 

 is no work in the fields, the wife stays at home and 

 does such additional tasks as sewing and launder- 

 ing. 



Immediately after breakfast, at 7 o'clock, the 

 dishes are done; simultaneously the woman begins 

 to grind the day's corn which in this particular 

 case takes 3 hours, during which time other food, 

 such as beans and meat, are put on the fire and 

 watched, frequently with the help of a child. 

 Tortillas are baked immediately the corn is 

 ground; this takes an hour, after which the cook- 

 ing ware is washed. Frequently lunch is carried 

 to the fields and all the family gathers there, at 

 noon. Otherwise there is a wait until the workers 

 arrive home at noon. Since breakfast a woman 

 has spent at least 4 hours cooking, assisted by a 

 child who has spent on the average a fifth of that 

 time. 



Lunch takes half an hour; if at home, they 

 quickly wash the dishes and the whole family goes 

 to the fields, since there is little cooking to be done 

 in the afternoon. But a woman (in case used, 

 the daughter) must return home at 4 o'clock to 

 fetch water, get the fire going again, put on coffee, 

 and at about 5 o'clock set the supper to heat. 

 Meanwhile, she has also taken a half hour to 

 remove grain from the ears of corn stored in the 

 house, and she sets the pot of nixtamal on the 

 fire when she heats the food. Thus by the time 

 supper is served, at 6 o'clock, she has devoted an 

 hour and a half to cooking, which is probably 

 near average. 



During supper, the nixtamal remains on the 

 fire, which is tended incidentally; it is removed 

 2 hours after it is set on, by which time the dishes 

 are washed and the cooking day is over. Seven 



i« Com boiled with lime. It is the basis of most com foods. A description 

 of the cooking techniques in Panajachel will be published later. 



"1 One informant said that in his house the niitamal is washed at 6 a. m. 

 and it takes an hour to grind enough for breakfast tortillas at 7 a. m. Then 

 at 11 a. m. his sister grinds again for a half hour to cook tamaies for lunch, 

 and repeats the process at 5 p. m. for supper. In this case the niitamal is 

 set to boil at 8 p. m.; the quantity is smaller (since there are but two adults 

 and a child) and it takes only an hour. The whole schedule appears to be 

 later than in the house of Santiago Yach, but the differences In time con* 

 sumed are relatively small. 



