106 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAI, ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 6 



teresting sights of the Friday Patzcuaro market engaged in only by fishermen, and is purely an 



is the long line of Tarascan women from many aquatic activity. Large numbers of ducks begin 



parts of the lake, each squatting with her basket to arrive in late October, to winter until the fol- 



of fish in front of her, shouting out her wares lowing March or April. Most common is the 



and prices, and cajoling the shopper into buy- lesser scanp {Nyroca affinis), known as the pato 



ing her particularly fine fish. del tiempo; followed by the ringneck {Nyroca 



Approximate prices on the local market, in collaris), known also as pato del tiempo; and 



Patzcuaro and in Morelia, are as follows: the widgeon (Mareca americana), known as the 



Local Patzcuaro Morelia 



White fish, per dozen: 



Large, selected $10.00 $11.00 $12.00 



Mixed $7-8.00 $10.00 — 



Bass, per kilo (Or varying 

 prices per pair, depending 

 on size) $0.80-1.10 $1.25-2.00 $1.50-2.50 



Khuerepu: 



Fresh $0.60 per kilo; 0.05 handful 4-5 for $0.05 3 for $0.05 



Dried, per kilo $2.50 $3.00 $3.50 



Akumara $0.10-0.20 each $0.20-0.30 each $0.35-0.50 each 



More so than in the case of any of the other cotorro. Others are the canvasback {Nyroca va- 



industries, fishing is done on the basis of a lisiner ia), k.no\^n &?, \he pato de los bosques;\hQ 



relatively wealthy man who owns the expensive ruddy duck ( Erismatura jammcensis) known as 



canoes and nets, hiring helpers who share in the pato bola; the New Mexico duck (Anaz dia- 



the catch. Though this system has prevailed for zi), called pato triguero; the pintail {Anas acu- 



many years to a limited extent, the introduction ta), known as golondrino; the cinnamon teal 



of the black bass has increased social and eco- {Querquedula cyanoptera) and the green-wing- 



nomic stratification. Formerly the single fisher- ed teal {Nettion carolinense) , both known as the 



man with his one place canoe and butterfly net, pato zarceta; the fulvous tree duck {Dendro- 



representing a very moderate investment com- cygna bicolor), known as the pato pijifi; and 



pared to a large tepari canoe and the $1,000 the shoveller {Spatula clypeata), known as the 



peso seine, was able to make a fair living tak- pato cuchara. Most common of all wild fowl 



ing the small thiru fish. Subsequent to the in- on the lake is the coot or mudhen {Fulica ame- 



troduction of bass the thiru have all but disap- ricana), known as the gallareta. A small grebe 



peared, eaten, say the fishermen, by the new- {Podilymhus podiceps), called zambullidor, is 



comers. In view of the well-known carnivorous ^^^^ ^^""X common. 



habits of bass, the Tarascan contention seems ^^^ of these varieties are shot with punt guns 



not without foundation. As a result of the disap- mounted in the bows of canoes. Of particular 



pearance of thiru the single fisherman with his interest to ethnologists is the use of the atlatl 



butterfly net has nothing to take. Unable to o'" -'P^^'" thrower (T. phatamu) to take all kinds 



aff-ord the more expensive equipment, he has of edible aquatic fowls. This weapon, an earlier 



been faced with the choice of either giving up ^'ev^lopment in human culture than the bow, 



fishing or hiring out as a peon on a "share crop- f '^ '^^ "^^^* advanced weapon known to the 



v.;„„" K„^; t . i.i • 1 • . I- first migrants who arrived in Alaska irom Asia, 



ping basis to a wealthier man, who in turn has . f , ■ , r ^■ ■ ^ ^■ • 



1 • „i 1 J ■ . •.• r .1 r .c I IS a cultural survival oi limited present distri- 



his already dominant position lurther fortified. , . ™ . , . ^ r i 



bution. Ihe typical specimen, made oi polo 



DUCK HUNTING 02"^ wood, is 65 cm. long, with a 12-cm. handle 



to be grasped by the thumb and little and ring 



This is a corollary to fishing in that it is fingers, and two holes for the index and middle 



