FUNCTIONS OF WEALTH 



205 



capable of work) if he had nothing to do for him- 

 self and if the work and wage offered were reason- 

 able by local standards. If a plantation owner 

 should try to contract labor to go to the lowlands, 

 he might get a contrary impression; but he would 

 be in error because of ignorance of the fact that 

 there is enough work in Panajachel where the 

 climate and health conditions are more favorable 

 and where the Indians have their families and 

 friends. Furthermore, it has been seen that the 

 Indians do strive for wealth and that there is 

 strong motivation toward greater land holdings, a 

 desire to have more for themselves and their 

 children. 



Without doubt, the first need that the Indians 

 feel is for security. Wealth gives security, and a 

 great deal of wealth is necessary for real security. 

 When a sickness can take in a year what has been 

 accumulated in a dozen or more, and when such 

 catastrophes are ever on the horizon, it is not 

 enough to be just a little ahead. Almost none of 

 the Indians have enough to feel at all secure, and 

 most of them have no security whatever. The 

 need to keep as much as possible ahead, for the 

 rainy day, keeps all Indians working. It must be 

 remembered that there are in the community 

 almost no mechanisms to alleviate the results of 

 financial disaster. A man sells his assets, or 

 borrows on them, when he has sudden need; and 

 when his assets are gone, he has nothing to fall 

 back on. There is no public and almost no private 

 charity. There is the case of a poor Indian whose 

 wife was ill, having given birth to a child. The 

 midwife told him he needed to buy medicines, and 

 he had no money. He spent at least 3 days 

 unsuccessfully trying to borrow 25 cents, even 

 offering his machete as security. I do not know 

 what finally happened. In another case a very 

 poor Indian whose wife had just given birth was 

 called before the court for not having registered 

 the child's birth and he was fined $2.00 for having 

 no documents; in jail he could earn nothing for his 

 sick wife, so a nephew (who happens to be Ladino- 

 ized) paid the fine "as an act of humanity." 



In a large famUy, the number of persons is itself 

 some insurance, for all are not apt to take sick at 

 once. In a small family — say a man, his wife and 

 a small child — if the man falls ill and there are no 

 assets to pawn or sell, nor credit in the stores, I 

 suppose that they live on what the wife can earn, 

 and buy only what her earnings permit; if medi- 



cines or the services of a shaman cannot be bought, 

 the man presumably goes without, and perhaps 

 dies. What happens if both the father and 

 mother, in such a case, should become incapacitated, 

 I do not know, for such a case was not noted; I 

 suppose that neighbors or friends or relatives would 

 assist. The picture is perhaps not as bleak as it 

 appears, for really minimum needs are few: a roof 

 over one's head costs nothing, for anybody will 

 furnish that temporarily; a little firewood can 

 always be collected; clothing may be in tatters, 

 but the mildness of the climate makes that not too 

 serious; and the food required, for a hmited period 

 of time, can be very little and very cheap — com 

 and a little lime, and water. In extremities of 

 misfortune, the standard of life simply drops to 

 that minimum. 



Security from such contingencies is the first 

 want, sm-ely. But it is a negative want. The 

 Indians also desire better living. That means, 

 first, that they wish better food, clothing, and 

 shelter than the minimum. It means, second, 

 that they wish some real insurance against death. 

 One Indian told me that the reason the rich have 

 more cliildreri than the poor is that they can 

 "defend" then- childi'cn when they take ill. Recall 

 also the poor girl who pointed out that the sons of a 

 rich family could "sin" (in this case, work on Sun- 

 day) because they had the wherewithal to take 

 care of the consequences (i. e., they could pay for 

 curing). It means, third, that they want some 

 degree of independence — to be able to choose 

 their employers and the kind of work; not to have 

 to ask favors and borrow money; and they want 

 enough so that thej' can carry quarrels to legal 

 conclusions and pay their fines no less than can 

 their enemies. 



Beyond that, even, the Indians want power to do 

 favors and to give work to others. What they 

 doubtless want, in the long run, is the respect of 

 others in the community. Personal virtues, such 

 as honesty, industry, and generosity, that are high 

 in the values of the culture, are more or less inde- 

 pendent of wealth. But there are at least two 

 achievements of high value that are attained only 

 through the accumulation of wealth. One is rapid 

 ascent in the political -religious hierarchy of offices; 

 a man with money is able to do his duty quickly 

 and without stinting or complaining too much, and 

 he becomes an honored principal at an early age, 

 a respected power in the community. The second 



