60 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



Figure 6. — The Tzintzuntzan plow. Top, the parts 

 unassembled: a, Telera. b, Encarcelaje. c. Shaft 

 butt, d. Hole through which telera passes, e, Rear 

 wedge. /, Front wedge, g. Notch for cross beams. 

 h, Orejera beam, i, Bigote mocho beam. /, Bigo- 

 tera beam, k, Reja. I, Shaft pin. m, Garrocha. 

 n, Rejada. o, Corbus. Right, the assembled plow. 

 See text pp. 59-61 for explanations. 



rather detailed description of the plow used in 

 Tzintzuntzan. Figure 6 shows the assembled 

 plow and its component parts. The basic pieces 

 are the timon or shaft, up to 4 m. in length; the 

 cabeza, which is a solid piece combining share 

 and handle, with a 75 cm. foot; the telera (a) 

 or plow pin, which passes through a tapering 

 hole from the under side of the cabeza and is 

 tightly wedged in place; a front wedge (/) 25 

 by 5 cm.; a rear wedge (e) 30 by 5 cm., which 

 has almost no taper; and the reja (k) or iron 

 share. To the rear of the plow pin and beneath 

 the rear wedge, is a notch (g), which holds the 

 cross beams {h, i, and /'). To assemble the plow 

 the beam is laid crosswise in this notch, the butt 

 of the shaft (c) dropped into the encarcelaje 

 {b) or groove to the rear of the beam, with 

 the pin (a) passing through the hole (d) in the 

 shaft. The rear wedge is dropped into place, 

 bracing the beam, and the front wedge inserted 

 to tighten the entire union. 



The wedges also control the depth to which 

 the share digs. Lowering the rear and raising 

 the front wedge increases the angle between 

 the shaft and the share, causing a deeper bite. 

 Various adjustments are necessary for the sev- 

 eral cultivations. The first plowing, or loosen- 

 ing of the earth, requires a fairly shallow cut; 

 the oxen cannot pull the plow at depth through 

 the hard ground. For planting, a somewhat 

 deeper furrow is made in the now soft earth. 

 The first two cultivations are still deeper, since 

 part of the purpose is to heap earth around the 

 stalks, while the last, in the words of Salvador 

 Villagomez, results "in a regular canyon." 

 Three different cross beams are used, each for 

 a specific purpose: 



1. Bigotera (j). This a curved beam 25 cm. long. 

 Since the plow head is about 10 cm. wide, only about 

 7.5 cm. project on each side. This beam is used in 

 preparing maize and wheat fields, and to open the 

 furrow to plant maize. 



