110 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



pafios, have a width of 350 meshes. Each pafw is 

 about 9 m. long — 7 brazadas ["arm lengths"), 

 and requires 6 pounds of string. The bolsa re- 

 quires 10 to 12 pounds, because of the much 

 finer mesh. 



In practice, only very rarely is a complete 

 new net assembled. Old nets are constantly re- 

 paired, a new pafio, a new cuchillo, or a new 





\°o 



<*00 MESHES 



CONTACT BATIDOR 



Figure 26. — Cuchillo section of seine. See text 

 pp. 108-109 for explanation. 



caron added when the old threads are past re- 

 pair. Hence, although a net is being constantly 

 replaced, as a unit it almost never wears out, 

 although after several years none of the original 

 thread may be present. On the average, a pafw 

 is said to last about a year and a half, after 

 which time it is thoroughly repaired and event- 

 ually replaced. Time required to weave a paho 

 is almost impossible to estimate. Customarily 

 fishermen, wives, and children from 10 years of 

 age weave in their spare time. The technique 



is so automatic that no one thinks about it, and 

 a common sight in the entire lake region is that 

 of several Tarascans walking along, chattering 

 gayly, a completed section of net wrapped 

 around their waist and their hands nimbly weav- 

 ing new meshes. Social gatherings in the eve- 

 ning, after a hard day's work, do not interfere 

 with the ever-busy weaving fingers. Curiously, 

 in spite of the very definite personalities and 

 histories of each net, they are not named, and 

 are known only as the chinchorro of such-and- 

 such a person. Since new nets are rarely made, 

 it is difficult to say how much one is worth. 

 Nonetheless, estimates of many fishermen, for 

 what they are worth, averaged 1,000 pesos for 

 a large chinchorro. There are about 25 chin- 

 chorros in the immediate Tzintzuntzan area, 18 

 of which are in Ichupio. 



The weaving of a cheremekua gill net is rela- 

 tively simple work, corresponding to that of the 

 large pafios of the seine. Dimensions have al- 

 ready been given. Small gill nets are worth 

 from $8 to $.30, while large ones around Tzin- 

 tzuntzan are so rare that no informant would 

 even guess at the current value. 



Ropes 



Seines and large gill nets need stout ropes 

 between 1 and 1.5 cm. in diameter to run along 

 the top and bottom of the net, to hold the floats, 

 to give strength, and to prevent hopeless tan- 

 gling. The seine likewise needs cables by which 

 it can be pulled into the boat. Maguey fiber, 

 from which these ropes are made, is bought in 

 Patzcuaro in the form of jarcia, hanks of loose- 

 ly woven fiber which come from San Luis Po- 

 tosi. The fiber is soaked in the lake, then an 

 end tied to a convenient fence post, and the 

 fiber unraveled to make a length of the size 

 desired. Formal rope walks are unknown, and 

 any convenient street is used. The original 

 weaving as purchased is so loose the strands 

 must be tightened. This is done with a blade 

 known as a tarar'ia. an oak stick about 30 cm. 

 long, with a notch near one end and a hole just 

 below the notch. Through this is placed the 

 mancral ("handle"), of vara prieta or manza- 

 nillo. with a knob on one end so that it does not 

 slip through the hole (fig. 27, a). The end of the 

 strand is tied around the notch in the blade and 



