EMPIRE S children: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



103 



Canoes are made in the sierra and are of two 

 standard types, both dugouts: the tepari, or 

 large fishing and traveling canoes, and the 

 smaller ichdriUa, for some types of fishing, 

 duck hunting, and light transportation. Canoe 

 sizes are measured by varas of 80 cm. The 

 largest canoe is a tepari de a 14, meaning 14 

 varas long (11.2 m.) while the smaller teparis 

 may be no more than 8 varas. The small ichdru- 



Figure 21. — Butterfly fishnet. The inset shows the 

 manner of lashing the net frame to the long 

 pole by means of a rigid wooden section. This 

 drawing is of a model. Large nets have a much 

 longer wooden cross section, up to 2 or more 

 meters. 



ta are from 3 to 8 varas. The large canoes 

 are both rowed and paddled, the small canoes 

 paddled only. 



The standard chinchorro fishing party con- 

 sists of four persons. Usually they are all 

 men, though it is not uncommon to see one or 

 two women helping. Fishing takes place any 



time from before dawn until dusk. Most of the 

 work, however, is done in the morning because 

 winds in the afternoon make navigation difficult, 

 and at times dangerous. Fishing is done in 

 shallow water, rarely more than 3 m. deep. 

 Since the lake is very shallow in most parts, and 

 the bottom slopes out very gradually, the canoe 

 may work at a considerable distance from the 

 shore. 



To fish for white fish, the seine is placed in 

 the middle of the canoe, tended by two men. 

 One man paddles in the stern and guides the 

 canoe, and another rows at the bow. A place 

 with little seaweed is selected, and the two men 

 start to throw the net, beginning with the right- 

 hand end. One man passes it from the bottom 

 of the canoe to the second, who places it over- 

 board so that a wide bow or semicircle is de- 

 scribed. At each end of the net, separated from 

 the meshes by a meter or two, is a wooden 

 spreader of the same diameter as the net itself. 

 Ropes from each end of the spreader converge 

 to a strong cable which may be a hundred meters 

 long and which terminates in the canoe. After 

 placing the net the canoe is moved away until it 

 occupies a position equidistant between the net 

 ends, and from 50 to 100 m. away. If the fish- 

 ing is near the shore there are probably stout 

 poles permanently stuck in the bottom, to which 

 the canoe is tied with a rope from bow and stem; 

 if further from the shore, a strong pole 6 m. or 

 more long is carried and driven into the soft 

 mud. 



To draw in the net a fisherman stands in the 

 bow, loops one of the cables around his waist, 

 protected with heavy cloth padding, and bracing 

 his hands on the gunwales and his feet on the 

 bottom, pulls backward to the stern, at which 

 time his place in the front is taken by a second 

 fisherman who draws the opposite cable. Thus, 

 by alternate pulls the cables are drawn in and 

 the net assumes more and more a horseshoe form 

 (fig. 22). When the spreaders and net ends 

 reach the canoe they are pulled in by hand by 

 all four participants, two taking the top sides 

 and two the bottom sides. As the pocket ap- 

 proaches, marked by the floating gourd, the tem- 

 po quickens, until during the last few seconds 

 hands are fairly flashing in the sunlight. Fi- 

 nally the pocket is drawn in and the catch 

 dumped on the canoe floor, to be tossed out of 



