EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



115 



almost continual motion as they follow the 

 animals about the field. A pail or pot under 

 the udder would be smashed or overturned in a 

 very few seconds. Some milk is always left for 

 the calf. Cows are milked once a day, normally 

 in the morning. Cows produce fairly well during 

 the first 3 months after the birth of the calf, 

 and then the production falls off slowly over a 

 period of another 9 months. During the rainy 

 season cows may average 5 or 6 liters a day; 

 during the dry season from October to June this 

 drops to 1 or 2 liters. 



Grama grass and maize fodder are consider- 

 ed to be the best forage during the rainy season. 

 Some owners try to maintain milk production 

 during the dry season by means of a special for- 

 age, a mixture of wheat straw, janamargo 

 grass, maize stalks, and camalote, a weed drawn 

 from the shallow reaches of the lake. Local 

 sale of milk, besides home consumption, is the 

 primary reason for milking. A little white 

 cheese is made for home consumption by a few 

 families, but most cheese consumed in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan is bought in Patzcuaro, where it is 

 brought from the tierra caliente. Butter is al- 

 most never made. 



The relatively great use of milk in Tzintzun- 

 tzan contrasted to the slight use among the pure 

 Tarascans (Deals, 1946, p. 29) would appear 

 to be a cultural phenomenon reflecting the Eu- 

 ropean origin of the majority of customs and 

 attitudes of the pueblo, as contrasted to the pre- 

 Columbian Indian who did not, of course, prac- 

 tice milking. In Ichupio milking is of slight 

 importance — animals run loose in the hills 

 until they are ready for slaughtering. In Tzin- 

 tzuntzan cattle are frequently driven to the hills, 

 especially when they are not being milked, but 

 few potential milk cows go unexploited. 



Oxen are, obviously, of tremendous economic 

 importance, since without them agriculture 

 would be impossible. They are castrated at the 

 age of 3 years. Prirtio Calderon, who comes 

 close to being a veterinarian, usually does the 

 job for Sl.OO. 



All cattle are branded with irons, and each 

 mark is registered in the municipal office in 

 Tzintzuntzan. AH animals are named, usually 

 but not always, because of the color. Examples 

 of cattle names are: Ciruela (a plum-colored 

 cow), Mariposa ("butterfly"), Naranja ("or- 



ange"), Guayaba ("guava"). Avis pa ("v/asp"). 

 La mosca ("the fly"). Oxen names are: El silge- 

 ro (a smoky-colored ox). El manic y (after the 

 color of the fruit), Jicote (a dark animal). El 

 espcjo ("the mirror"). El mariachi. El billcie 

 ("the paper bill," a spotted animal). El pana- 

 dero ("the baker"), Mulato (a brown animal), 

 Prieto (a black animal), Negro ("black"), 

 Melon (a tan animal), Carpintero ("wood- 

 pecker," said to have the black and white mark- 

 ings of this bird), Calandria (an animal thought 

 to have the coloring of an oriole). 



Old oxen, cows and bulls, and sick animals 

 of any age are slaughtered. One morning Zefe- 

 rino Villagomez, municipal president, informed 

 me he was going to kill a cow within a few 

 hours. Official duties delayed him until so late 

 that it was impossible to do so. Since the next 

 day was Friday, when there would be little sale, 

 and Saturday and Sunday were also vigilia or 

 fast days, he informed me he would wait until 

 Monday. When I appeared at the appointed time 

 Zeferino looked surprised and informed me that 

 since, by a miracle, the cow had recovered he 

 was not going to slaughter it at all. It is impos- 

 sible to say what percentage of animals are 

 butchered in a race with death, but the figure 

 is high. 



Tiie tail of the victim is passed through its 

 rear legs to fell it, the four feet tied together, 

 a knife stuck in the jugular vein, and the blood 

 allowed to run on tlie ground uncollected, ex- 

 cept by the inevitable eager dogs. The head is 

 next skinned, then a length-wise ventral slit 

 made and the skin laid out flat on the ground. 

 Next the stomachs are removed, emptied of 

 their contents, and washed. The two forequar- 

 ters are separated and carried to the butcher 

 shop, while the hindquarters are left in one 

 piece. Several men, notably Salvador Villago- 

 mez, are skilled butchers, and are asked to aid 

 in slaughtering. They r-eceive no fixed sum, 

 though a kilo or so of meat and perhaps $0.50 

 in cash are given them. Custom dictates that 

 anyone who aids with the slaughtering must be 

 paid in kind, with the result that the heads of 

 meat-hungry but money-poor families, often to 

 the number of six or eight, arrive, each helping 

 by holding a hoof, emptying a stomach, or of- 



fering some other slight service. 



An ox of average size brings an income 



of 



