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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



ing as the bayo, but is somewhat smaller, aver- 

 aging a little over 1 cm. in length. It is a very 

 hard bean, and requires longer to cook than 

 the others. The bolita, also known as jabonci- 

 Ho, is somewhat smaller and plumper than those 

 just described, almost in the form of a cod-liver- 

 oil capsule, and is characterized by a very tough 

 pod. In color it may vary from the dull yellow 

 of the bayo to a red-purple cast similar to that 

 of the rosa de castilla. The parraleno is small, 

 round to oblong in shape, varying in color from 

 a decidedly dull red to the purplish cast of the 

 rosa de castilla. Several apparently closely 

 related beans are characterized by dark spots 

 on a lighter background. The cucunito resem- 

 bles the bolita in size and shape. Its gray-brown 

 background is striped and spotted with black 

 which runs from end to end. The higuerilla 

 is slightly less round, has the same markings, 

 and a background that is rather purple. The 

 tiguerillo is still longer in form, has a light- 

 buff background, and gold-brown spotting. The 

 moro is a long, narrow bean, crimson in base 

 color spotted with white. The paloma is a small 

 white bean. The violento ("rapid" in this 

 sense) is so named because it matures in less 

 than 3 months as compared to 5 or 6 for the 

 others. It is similar in size and color to the 

 bayo but is marked with tiny dark stains. It is 

 carefully cut from maize stalks in August and 

 September so as not to harm the still-maturing 

 maize. The large purple patoli bean grown in 

 other parts of the lake area is not found in 

 Tzintzuntzan. The violento, bayo, and rosa de 

 castilla are grown for home consumption, while 

 the others are for export. 



Except for the violento, beans remain on 

 maize stalks until maize harvest time, and are 

 piled in the corn shocks until the ears have 

 been taken home. Threshing of beans is the 

 principal agricultural activity from the end of 

 the maize harvest in November until Christmas. 

 Bean plants are piled on a petate in the milpa 

 and beaten all day with poles 2 to 3 m. long un- 

 til the beans fall from the pods. The vines are 

 removed by hand and the chaff which remains 

 is winnowed with paddles exactly as for wheat 

 (p. 65). A few farmers with large plantings 

 thresh beans with horses in the manner of wheat. 

 A faster and more economical method, it ap- 

 parently is not thought justified unless the farm- 



er has a very large quantity of beans. During 

 bean harvest time there is no other pressing 

 agricultural work, and the farmer feels that 

 he had just as well thresh his own beans in a 

 leisurely manner rather than rent horses to do 

 it more quickly. 



Beans are planted by 101 families, exactly 

 the same number as for maize. 



WHEAT 



Preparation of soil, sowing, and care of 

 wheat require far less work than maize. Begin- 

 ning in mid-August the farmer plows the lade- 

 ras with the short bigotera beam, either delga- 

 dito or grueso. The former means that the 

 parallel furrows are close together, and the lat- 

 ter, wider apart, in case the farmer is pressed 

 for time. September 17, the day after the Mex- 

 ican Independence day, is the traditional day 

 for sowing if conditions are propitious. This 

 means moist soil beneath a dry surface. The 

 field is marked in melgas, a measure of width, 

 about 3 varas or 2.4 m., which run the length 

 of the milpa. A notch on the ox driving stick 

 indicates the distance from the edge of the mil- 

 pa, a furrow is plowed, a second measure is 

 taken from this furrow, a second furrow plow- 

 ed, and so forth. 



After marking two or three melgas the farm- 

 er pours a couple of liters of seed into his 

 serape, drapes one end over his left shoulder, 

 and holds the other with his left hand, so that 

 the wheat can be reached with the right hand. 

 Some farmers, particularly Tarascans, carry 

 seed in a wooden tray or a hat, believing that 

 if it is carried in a fiber bag or other container, 

 such as is used for maize, the wheat will be 

 blighted by tecolote, a black mold. Advancing 

 slowly down the marked section he scatters 

 handfuls of seed between the marks of each 

 melga furrow. After planting 2 or 3 melgas he 

 lays aside the serape and plows the planted 

 area, using the bigotera beam, so that the seed 

 is mixed with the earth, rather than covered. 

 Some seeds are 10 to 12 cm. deep, and others 

 remain on the surface. The furrows are then 

 leveled and the clods broken by fastening the 

 team to a heavy log and dragging it horizontal- 

 ly over the field. Wheat sowing goes much 

 more rapidly than corn planting. Seed rots if 

 the soil is too moist. A heavy rain immediately 



