EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



53 



skill in finding quarry. Each day's work is 

 entirely separated from all others; bad luck or 

 unfavorable weather today are unfortunate for 

 today, but have little bearing on the nature of 

 the work tomorrow or a week hence. Once the 

 product is removed from the lake the basic 

 "productive" process is finished, and the fish is 

 eaten or sold. It is not a raw material to be 

 worked and reworked into a final form with 

 economic value. Hence, as a form of exploi- 

 tation, fishing differs from simple collecting in 

 that it is an organized industry involving co- 

 operative effort on the part of several individ- 

 uals, expensive equipment, and knowledge of 

 specialized techniques. It differs from the fol- 

 lowing forms of exploitation in that there is, 

 properly speaking, no "productive process." 

 No raw material is treated, and the product does 

 not need continual attention over a greater or 

 lesser period of time. 



The potter is tied to the earth in a somewhat 

 different manner from the fisher. Presence of 

 adequate clays are the prime requisite. As in 

 fishing, knowledge, skill, and equipment are 

 essential to extract the earths, though relatively 

 all three points are less important and more 

 easily mastered. Unlike fishing, mining of 

 earths is a means to an end, and not an end in 

 itself. The earths are raw materials which must 

 be worked and completely transformed before 

 they have any intrinsic value. The environment, 

 in the sense of winds, rains, and presence or 

 absence of firewood, plays a part in this product- 

 ive process, but it is essentially a handicraft. 

 And, ten days or two weeks sees the end of the 

 process as far as any single "batch" is con- 

 cerned. 



Agriculture differs from all other forms of 

 exploitation in that the investment in equip- 

 ment — land, tools, oxen — is higher, and in 

 that the labor of the individual is constant and 

 continuous over long periods of time. Bad 

 weather today has a direct bearing on the situa- 

 tion 4 months hence, and there is no way by 

 extra energy and hard work to make up for the 

 pranks of nature. Thus, of all the major ex- 

 ploitive processes, agriculture is that which is 

 most intimately connected with the environment, 

 and that in which success or failure is most close- 

 ly linked to the annual vagaries of weather. 



Before beginning to examine each of the tech- 



niques by which man exploits his environment 

 in Tzintzuntzan, it will be revealing to examine 

 the census to determine what is the relative 

 importance of each. Likewise, from the census, 

 we learn a great deal about the stability and 

 change of professions. 



Occupations have been classified on two lev- 

 els: all jefes de familias, family heads, have 

 been considered according to major and minor 

 occupations; they total, including 41 women 

 heads, 292. In addition, all persons of 16 years 

 of age and over, other than heads, have been 

 considered only in terms of major occupation. 

 In all, the occupations of 346 men and 379 

 women over 16 years of age are treated. Table 

 8 shows the occupations of all family heads, 

 and those of the fathers of the men. It will be 

 seen that of the 251 male heads, 93 have se- 

 condary professions of sufficient importance to 

 merit mention in the census.^ An absolutely ac- 

 curate census would show more. This reparti- 

 tion of work is to a large extent the result of 

 a seasonal rhythm dependent on rainy and dry 

 periods. From October through May there is 

 little rain, the pottery clays dry easily, and the 

 potter can dedicate himself wholeheartedly with 

 few interruptions. From June through Septem- 

 ber the rains interfere with the work, and be- 

 cause of the lack of an income for many people 

 in the entire area, there is little market for pots. 

 Hence, the potter either works as a farmer, if 

 he has land, or hires out as a day laborer. The 

 busy agricultural season is from May until Oc- 

 tober, and then the pace slackens. Some will 

 hire out during the slow season, while others 

 will work as rescatones carrying pottery to dis- 

 tant markets to sell. Of the 14 men who fish, 

 only 4 have no other occupation. The rainy 

 season is poor for fishing, but is the time for 

 agriculture, and a surprising number of fish- 

 ermen have milpas. Others may work also as 

 rescatones, or occupy their time in the making 



1 The classification in major and minor occupations ad- 

 mittedly is somewhat arbitrary. All men who make pottery 

 have been listed in the potters' section. Hence, the figure 147 

 is the total. Some men who are part-time farmers are listed 

 with the potters, fishers, or under other heads: 66 persons 

 do some farming, as against 32 listed directly as farmers. All 

 men who fish, with one exception, are listed with the fisher- 

 men. H all persons who earn a part of their living as day 

 laborers are included, the total is 40 as against 17 listed in 

 this category. Likewise, a total of 42 persons earn at least 

 a part of their living as rescatones, as against the 14 listed 

 in this category. 



