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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



from $170 to $200 to the butcher. The 70 to 80 

 kilos of meat sell for %2 each, the head for S5, 

 the hide for from $20 to $25, and the penis, 

 from which a riding quirt is made, for $6. If the 

 animal is a bull, the scrotum is dried and made 

 into a small bag, similar to those of Africa. 



Even before the red flag goes up in front of 

 the butcher shop announcing fresh meat for 

 sale, the word has spread, and women with their 

 enamel plates patiently wait until the butcher 

 can attend them. He cuts a piece of lean, a 

 chunk of fat, and a bit of tripe, liver, or heart 

 while it lasts, and with a deft thrust spits them 

 on an eyed skewer. A length of green palm 

 frond is threaded through the eye and pulled 

 through the meat, lacing it together in a handy 

 packet to carry home. 



Cattle slaughtering requires about 2 hours, 

 and is considered less work than pig slaughter- 

 ing, since there is no need to heat water and 

 scrape bristles. 



RIDING AND PACK ANIMALS 



According to the census there are 1G6 burros 

 owned by 100 individuals, 65 mules owned by 

 32 individuals, and 48 horses owned by 36 in- 

 dividuals. None of these animals is ever used 

 in agriculture. Mules, particularly, are valued 

 by muleteers who carry pottery to distant towns, 

 because they carry far greater loads than burros. 

 Curiously, they are rarely ridden; out of the 

 total number only one is known as a good 

 mount. As in all Mexico they are carefully 

 distinguished as to sex: macho, the male, and 

 niula, the female. Eighteen men have riding 

 animals, about equally divided between yeguas, 

 mares, and caballos, stallions. As in Cheran, 

 there is relatively little use for riding animals, 

 and their presence must be explained as a whim 

 in which the relatively Vvealthy can indulge. 

 Rarely, during fiestas, horses are raced. Actual 

 use would never pay costs of purchase and up- 

 keep. 



Burros, as contrasted to their larger relatives, 

 are within the financial reach of most individ- 

 uals, and every potter tries to have at least one, 

 and preferably two or three, to carry earth and 

 firevi'ood, and to transport the finished product to 

 the Patzcuaro market. All of these animals are 

 kept in the patio, frequently under a rough 



shed thrown against the side of the house. Bur- 

 ros are often turned loose in the streets during 

 the rainy season, and all grazing animals, ex- 

 cept milking cows, may be allowed to wander 

 through the hills in search of forage. During 

 the dry season, however, all must be stall-fed, 

 and this implies considerable work on the part 

 of the owner in cutting forage or purchasing 

 fodder. During the first part of the rainy season, 

 until August, the wild grasses are "very weak," 

 i.e., without much food value, so stall feeding, 

 principally wheat straw, is the rule. A sack of 

 2 arrohas, 23 kilos, costs -$0.60 and lasts a mule 

 2 to .3 days, a burro 5 to 6 days. 



Burros are always named; horses and mules 

 are often, but not always, named. Skin color or 

 other characteristics are used to determine 

 names. Sample burro names are Reldmpago 

 ("lightning," the burro in question is noted for 

 slowness), Chango ("monkey"), Mulato (a 

 brown animal), Silguero (a burro of smoky co- 

 lor), Scncillo ("simple"). El horrego ("the 

 sheep," animal of whitish color), and La Cham- 

 ba (meaning unknov^n). Horse names are: To- 

 rengo (after the coloring of the tohee bird of this 

 name), Canario ("canary"), and Picochulo 

 ("pretty nose," the horse has a gray nose 

 considered handsome) . Mule names are: Cuervo 

 ("crow," a black animal), Gateado (from gato, 

 "cat," since hoofs are said to be slightly striped 

 like some cats), Colmena ("beehive," animal 

 said to be honey-colored), Mariposa ("butter- 

 fly," for a spotted animal), and Mulato. 



Burros, horses, and mules are branded with 

 the same mark the owner uses for cattle. 



PIGS 



Far fewer pigs are kept in Tzintzuntzan than 

 in most Mexican villages. A total of 1,32 ani- 

 mals, large and small, are kept by 66 families. 

 The largest number owned as a unit is 12. Pigs 

 are kept in patios, often in small houses of ado- 

 be v/ith tile or shingle roofs, and are fed scraps 

 from the table, the water used to wash the meta- 

 te, and bits of maize. Characteristically they 

 are thin razorbacks with few bristles. Males are 

 often castrated, since it is said that the lard 

 from such animals has a sweeter flavor than 

 that of boars. The operation is done when the 

 animal is nearly full grown; fatalities are not 



