EMPIRES children: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN- 



-FOSTER 



which carry only half as much. Each full 

 "load" is about enough to make one peso of 

 pottery. Hence, the fortunate man with mules 

 can get enough in 1 day for 2 weeks' work; the 

 less fortunate are obliged to come each week, 

 if their womenfolk keep up with them. Esti- 

 mates based on observations suggest the follow- 

 ing times to make one peso of pottery (one per- 

 son working: 



Pulverizing the dried earth with the large 



boulder 2 hours 



Grinding on the metate (somewhat less time 



if sieve method is used) 4 hours 



Measuring and mixing earths l/o hour 



Kneading the mixture 2 hours 



Total : one long day of very hard work 

 Making assorted pots 



93 



1 day 

 Polishing, placing handles I/2 *^^y 



Preparing glaze and putting it on pots 



1 day 



Getting wood for both firings 1-2 days 



Thus, if one person did all the work, in 5 to 

 6 days he could turn out 1 peso of pottery 

 worth about $24 at current wholesale rates in 

 Tzintzuntzan, resulting in a wage of about $4 a 

 day, which is double that of hired laborers. 

 Actually, this sequence is never followed to its 

 logical conclusion. Nevertheless, it gives a 

 pretty good idea of what a potter's time is 

 worth. 



Expenses are primarily limited to the glaze, 

 which sells in Patzcuaro at $1.20 a kilo, the 

 hormiguera, at $1.00 a kilo, and copper at 

 $3.00 a kilo. Since these supplies will do for 

 several pesos of pottery, glaze is a relatively 

 minor expense, even though one grumbles about 

 the rise in prices. 



Normally two or three or more persons will 

 work together, sometimes doing different tasks, 

 stopping to gossip, to prepare a meal, to break 

 the monotony of the work. The potter's art is a 

 dirty profession, but it has its compensations. 

 Best of all is the quietness of the work, the so- 

 cial opportunities to talk with others, and con- 

 siderable variety in the tasks one does in a week. 

 Compared to petate making, adobe making, or a 

 dozen other professions, it is not as monotonous 

 as might be expected. The principal occupa- 

 tional hazard is "dishpan hands." The constant 

 dipping of the hands in water, the dirt, the glaze, 

 cause chapping which develops into ugly cracks, 

 often forcing the potter to rest for a few days. 



It has been stated that each barrio in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan specializes in a special type of pottery 

 (Mendieta y Niihez, 1940, p. 245). This is true 

 only to a limited extent. In the barrio of Yahua- 

 ro there are four families who make nothing but 

 comales, in the three basic large sizes. These 

 are the only families that make comales on a 

 commercial scale, although other families may 

 have a few molds and make them occasionally. 

 Three families in Pueblo Nuevo specialize in 

 cazuelas, but only up to the de a cuatro size. 

 Two families, one in Pueblo Nuevo, and one in 

 EI Rincon make cazuelas up to the largest size, 

 the guajoloteras. The remaining families, far 

 and away the great bulk, make a bit of every- 

 thing — ollas and cdntaros of all sizes, and 

 small cazuelas. This is because it is easiest to 

 sell a variety of wares. 



ARTISTIC WARE 



Two specialized kinds of pottery are made 

 on a limited scale. The tinaja is a slipped and 

 burnished ware which, judging by archeological 

 specimens, is of prehistoric origin. The other, 

 the loza blanca or "white pottery," is a recent 

 flowering of tableware, made only by Doiia An- 

 drea and her daughter Natividad. It is based 

 on an older pinipite ware much favored by the 

 Tarascans, but since it involves glazing it ob- 

 viously is a post-Conquest technique. The tina- 

 ja ware is made in the same manner as other 

 pottery, though in a reduced number of shapes, 

 principally ollas. To withstand the force of the 

 burnisher the wall is somewhat thicker, and 

 the handles lack the characteristic groove found 

 on glazed pots. Also, there is one firing only. 

 The red slip is known as chardspikua (T. "red 

 thing"), and is brought from plentiful deposits 

 near the town of Acuitzio, near Morelia. The 

 Tzintzuntzan potters go with their animals, tak- 

 ing several pots as gifts to the owners of the 

 land, and are allowed in return to gather as 

 much as they can carry. This earth is dried, 

 ground on a metate, mixed with water and 

 splashed with the hands on all of the exterior 

 except the bottom of pots which have been sun- 

 dried. After the slip dries an hour or two, bur- 

 nishing begins. This is done with a special in- 

 strument, a piece of pyrites or a quartz crystal 

 hafted to a short handle of colorin wood with 



