EMPIRE S CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



39 



height of folly to spend $0.75 for a private 

 water tap if such is available nearby at no ex- 

 pense. 



The final column of table 5 compares homes 

 with Tarascan heads with the general average, 

 both by number and percent. Of the 248 homes, 

 43, or 17 percent, are headed by Tarascans. 

 Although the sample is small it will be noted 

 that on a percentage basis the Tarascans own 

 about as many homes in each category as do 

 the Mestizos, with, perhaps, a slight shading in 

 favor of the Tarascans in the upper categories. 

 Significantly, no Tarascan household remains 

 in the lowest bracket. 



An obvious question is what accounts for the 

 great differences in Tzintzuntzan houses. To a 

 limited extent, wealth is a factor: both light and 

 electricity must be paid for each month. Never- 

 theless, the $0.75 for water and SI. 40 for light 

 each month could easily be paid for by the 

 majority of all homesteaders. And, with little 

 more than elbow grease every home could, with 

 the construction of a privy and board bed, 

 enjoy a minimum status of 6. The only con- 

 clusion, then, is that some families are charac- 

 terized by more progressive thinking and great- 

 er initiative; a slight monthly expense and a 

 slight amount of work are more than repaid 

 by the greater comfort of their homes. Who 

 are these people so characterized? Although 

 there is no hard and fast dividing line between 

 categories of householders, in general the liter- 

 ate and the wealthy — as evidenced by land 

 ownership • — tend to have better homes. The 

 use of land as a criterion of wealth is not 

 perfect. Storekeepers, in general in the upper 

 categories, usually have their money invested 

 in stocks rather than land, while many families 

 listed as landowners may have only a single 

 tiny milpa. Economically they are closer to the 

 landless than to the larger landholders. None- 

 theless, in the absence of better criteria, tliis 

 has been selected. 



Table 6 shows the relationships between 

 house categories and literacy and land owner- 

 ship. Literacy has been analyzed in terms of 

 both parents (or one person when one parent 

 is dead or the household head is single), father 

 only, mother only, and neither parent (or one 

 person when one parent is dead or the house- 

 hold head is single). The total of the first thi'ee 



groups gives another, households literate in the 

 sense that one or both parents are able to read. 

 If categories 5, 3, and 2 are excluded, because 

 the maximum sample of 4 is too small to be 

 significant, one notices a steady decrease of lit- 

 eracy from category 10 to 0, and a correspond- 

 ing increase in illiteracy. This correlation is 

 particularly marked if one considers house- 

 holds in which both parents are literate, as 

 against those in which there is only one literate. 

 The obvious conclusion is that literate house- 

 holds tend to be materially more advanced, and 

 illiterate households materially less advanced. 



Land ownership shows the same tendency, to 

 a lesser degree, in that householders in category 

 4, which is relatively low, correspondingly are 

 as well off as those in the higher categories. 

 This situation is more apparent than real: a 

 numerical* count of milpas in each category 

 shows that owners in categories 6 to 10 average 

 50 percent more land than those in the lower 

 categories. Hence, wealth as represented by 

 land ownership correlates with the materially 

 more advanced houses. 



Clearly there is a marked correlation be- 

 tween comfortable homes, literacy, and wealth. 

 Since even the poorest families could have a 

 privy and bed at almost no cost, it must be 

 assumed that either the progressive literate in- 

 dividuals are the ones most likely to succeed 

 financially or that the presence of wealth also 

 produces an advanced thinking that cannot be 

 measured in terms of pesos and centavos. From 

 a practical standpoint it is encouraging to note 

 that literacy appears to be more important than 

 wealth. With the continued functioning of a 

 good school, illiteracy will eventually be re- 

 duced to a very low level. Quite possibly with 

 greater education will come the desire for bet- 

 ter, more hygienic homes. 



As matters are today, however, there is very 

 little urge or desire among the Tzintzuntzenos 

 to improve their homes, and excellent opportun- 

 ities to better their property have met with little 

 enthusiasm. For example, in 1938 electricity 

 was brought to the town from Patzcuaro, and a 

 moderate charge of $1.40 per month for a 40- 

 watt bulb was made. More bulbs enjoy a re- 

 duced rate. In addition, the town's main streets 

 are lighted, free of charge, as are the municipal 

 building and the church. Nevertheless, only 35 



