158 



THE LEVEL AND COST OF LIVING 



roof. The doorway, center of north wall, is 5H feet high 

 and 2 feet wide, with a door of canes. 



The fireplace is in the southeast corner, with a load of 

 firewood nearby. At the base of east and south walls are 

 cooking pots, grinding stone, and a jar of water. There is 

 a table of boards over crosspieces supported by posts 

 implanted in ground, on which are kept dishes and food- 

 stuffs. Nearby are several shelves on pegs in the walls, 

 with additional ones hung from the rafters with cords, in 

 the middle of which are strung gourd bowls. 



There are no beds in the house: the family sleeps on 

 mats on the floor; 6 and 7 sleep in the northeast comer, 8 

 with 5 in the southwest corner, and parents with 3 in the 

 northwest corner. Blanket and clothing are hung over 

 each of the three sleeping places on a line. Several old 

 wooden chests are on the floor. There is an ax against the 

 wall near the fire, and hoes and machetes are kept in 

 other corners of the house. Several worn-out machetes 

 hang by a rope, with some ox horns from which containers 

 to carry water to the fields can be made. 



Pitch-wood torches are used as much as kerosene lamps 

 for lighting the house. 



The sweat bath (A) is 6 by 9 feet; the privy (B), a 

 doorless structure of canes with a one-pitch thatch roof, is 

 about 2 by 2 feet and 6 feet high. 



No. 108. No yard. The house, 8 by 8 feet, with an 

 8-foot roof and 4-foot walls, is of mass-adobe and thatch. 

 The porch, about 3 feet wide, has three posts supporting 

 the eaves. The door is carpenter-made of old wood. The 

 house is in poor condition, the roof patched with leaves in 

 several places. 



The fireplace is in the northeast corner of the house, and 

 the pots stand near it. On the walls are a board, hung as 

 a shelf where foodstuffs can be stored, and a few bats, old 

 gourds, weaving sticks, and bunches of medicinal plants. 

 In 1936 there was no bed; the family slept on a mat on the 

 floor, all together with but one blanket. There are two or 

 three small stools and a small wooden chest. Clothing 

 hangs on lines tied to the walls. 



On the porch are usually kept firewood, the man's 

 carrying frame and hoes, axes, and machetes. Sticks used 

 in planting and weeding truck gardens are stuck into the 

 thatch of the roof, in the house, and on the porch. 



A, a chicken coop of old canes with old boards laid on 

 for a roof, is about 4 by 4 by 4 feet. The sweat bath (B), 

 about 6 feet in each dimension, was in disrepair in 1936. 

 Inside, beside the fireplace, are wooden benches. 



No. 109. No yard. The mass-adobe house, 16 by 10 

 feet with 5-foot walls and 16-foot roof ridge, is 8 years 

 old. The walls are whitewashed according to Public 

 Health regulations; there is a door of canes. This was the 

 only house described in which there was a glass window: a 

 pane about 8 inches square set into the north wall. 



Near B, another house of the same type and material, 

 7 by 13 feet, was being constructed to serve as a bedroom. 

 A is a chicken coop, 3 by 4 feet, of thatched mass-adobe; 

 besides a few chickens, it contains accumulated excrement 

 to be used or sold as fertilizer. 



The small fireplace is in the southwest comer of the 

 house. Above it hangs a twigged branch with enamelware 

 drinking cups and pottery pitchers. There is also a 



wooden shelf on the wall for the gourd in which tortillas 

 are kept. Along the south wall are the grinding stone 

 and earthenware pots used in the kitchen; pots less fre- 

 quently used are kept outside. 



A bed of three boards resting on four implanted posts 

 replaced (in 1936) the mats which the family formerly 

 slept on. The bed is covered with a mat and a blanket; 

 clothing serves for a pillow. Beans, garlic, and onions are 

 stored under the bed. 



The only piece of furniture besides the bed is a smoke- 

 blackened wooden chest in which papers and documents 

 are kept. In the northwest corner of the house, two ropes 

 strung across hold a second blanket, a mesh bag, and a 

 small bag, some ropes and tumplines. Below them are 

 axes, hoes, machetes, and a carrying frame. 



Except for the fire and occasional pitch-wood torch, 

 there is no regular means of lighting the house. 



COSTUMES 



The individual garments made and purchased 

 by Panajachel Indians are combined into various 

 costumes: 

 Men's and boys': 



(1) The "old fashioned" costume consists of a calzon 



covered by a gabdn and then a Nahuald rodillera, 

 all fastened with a home-woven sash and with 

 a leather belt. An extra rodillera is hung over 

 the shoulders by men who have attained a 

 certain grade in the politico-religious hierarchy. 

 A hat is worn on the head, but a sute is substi- 

 tuted on formal occasions. The feet are bare 

 or with caites. 



(2) The "newer" costume substitutes a shirt for the 



gabdn, but otherwise the costume is the same. 



(3) The "modern" costume consists of a shirt and 



cahoncillo covered by a Nahuald rodillera and 

 bound with a sash, either home-woven or pur- 

 chased, and a leather belt. The rest of the 

 costume is the same. In two cases no belt is 

 worn. In one case a Chichicastenango rodillera 

 is substituted for that from Nahuald. 



(4) The "fashionable" costume is the same except 



that the rodillera is of the blue Tecpdn type, 

 frequently with white borders and open work 

 at the ends. A bought kerchief is frequently 

 worn around the neck. San Pedro shirts are 

 especially popular with this costume. In one 

 case the sash is omitted and the belt performs a 

 more important function. 



(5) The "city" costume, worn especially by men who 



have been in military service, and some boys, 

 and which is typical of Indians of communities 

 where the regional costume has been lost, con- 

 sist of shirt, trousers, belt, and sash. In five 

 cases the sash is also discarded and the costume 

 is quite European in type (but neckties and 

 shoes are not worn). The number of wearers 

 shown in table 61 includes "foreign" Indians 

 resident in Panajachel. 



