EMPIRES children: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



83 



be allowed to leave without some token of friend- 

 ship. It is 11 o'clock in the morning, and the 

 family is stopping for almuerzo, a midmorning 

 snack. Faustino comes into the patio, his burros 

 loaded with oak and pine for the kiln. Dona 

 Andrea washes her hands, sets before us a tiny 

 table covered with a white cloth, and presently 

 a china dish with eggs and a stack of tortillas 

 appears. The rest of the family stand around 

 the large stove, which serves also as table, but 

 visitors cannot be served in such informal fash- 

 ion. Fashion dictates that the cloth must go on 

 the table, however immaculate its top may have 

 been scrubbed. 



The potters will continue with the same work 

 in the afternoon, so we decide to move two 

 doors down to the home of Dona Andrea's 

 daughter, Natividad, and her son-in-law Vicente 

 to see if other tasks are being done. The move 

 is also diplomatic. In Tzintzuntzan, although 

 trying to be on good terms with many families, 

 one inevitably comes to have special friends 

 with whom greater confidences are established, 

 and who are always more pleased to see one. 

 Within this inner circle, however, no favoritism 

 must be shown. A visit to one house must be 

 m.atched by a visit to all of the others, if one 

 is not to offend. Hence, it is time we pass over 

 to the homes of the others. "Many thanks, Dofia 

 Andrea, we v.ill see each other soon." "Que pa- 

 sen buena tarde" she replies. "May you pass a 

 pleasant afternoon." "Que pasen buena tarde." 

 we echo to all the assembled members of the 

 family. 



Nati, of course, knows that we have been at 

 her mother's home. Dona Andrea lives with 

 her youngest son Gabino, age 13, and with an 

 older son Faustino and his wife Pachita, and 

 baby daughter Lucia. In the same patio, but in 

 a different house, lives her daughter-in-law Ma- 

 caria, v/ith her children Celia and Adolfo. The 

 father, Jesus, is absent in the United States, 

 working as a bracero, or laborer. Next door is 

 an older son Wenceslao, his two children Espe- 

 ranza and Miguel, and his wife Otelia, who is 

 the sister of his dead first wife, the mother of 

 the children. Natividad and Vicente, and their 

 three children, Gaudencio, Teresa, and Consue- 

 lo, live in the next house. Hence, when a visitor 

 arrives in one house his presence is immediately 



known in the others, by means of small children 

 slipping in and out of gates and doors. 



Vicente and Nati are, by good fortune, engag- 

 ed in what is the next step of work. Yesterday 

 they made a number of large de a medio ollas. 

 Today these must be polished and the handles 

 added. The pot is placed in a ring made of tule 

 reeds of the type known as chuspata {sikwa, 

 peeled sections of the stalk of a banana tree, 

 may also be used) and covered with the remains 

 of an old felt hat. With a short knife hafted 

 to a corncob handle Nati trims the ragged bits 

 of clay which project at the point of contact of 

 the halves of the mold, and also trims the neck 

 a little to improve the contour. Then she takes 

 a handful of very damp and pliable paste, gives 

 it a last minute dousing in a small water-filled 

 dish, and goes over the entire surface of the pot, 

 filling any cracks and imperfections that may 

 have resulted. Next a polishing stone of jana- 

 mo. a coarse volcanic rock, is dipped in water 

 and rubbed over the outside to level any ridges 

 and give a smooth surface. And finally, with a 

 wet rag, the same process is repeated, to give 

 the final finish. Nati looks admiringly at my 

 old khaki pants. "You don't have any old pants 

 like that that are about worn out?" she asks 

 hopefully. "It's the very best material for 

 polishing, but we don't see much of it." I make 

 a mental note to buy her some new khaki cloth; 

 the extravagance of using new cloth for polish- 

 ing should make her the happiest woman in 

 Tzintzuntzan. On a subsequent visit the cloth is 

 presented, but the next day when I come I find 

 she has made it into a new apron, and the 

 longing look in her eye for the old khaki pants 

 still remains. Well, the apron will also be old 

 someday, and then she can use it. 



Next come the handles. This is work exclu- 

 sively for Nati. Vicente does all the rest, but he 

 has never mastered handles. She makes two 

 rolls of paste on her working stone, about 12 

 by 4 cm. On the selected spot for the contact 

 of the first handle she places a moistened finger, 

 then pushes the end of the roll against it, 

 smooths the clay against the pot, and then works 

 the roll out until it is longer and narrower, pass- 

 ing it between thumb and index finger and 

 maintaining a perfect cylinder. When it is 

 deemed long enough it is curved and the other 

 end stuck to the pot, a bit pinched off and 



