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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



Charcoal making formerly was practiced on 

 a small scale, but in recent years more strin- 

 gent forestry laws have put a stop to it. It was 

 done under contract by regular companies en- 

 gaged in this work, with imported workers; 

 hence, it was never an industry of the town. A 

 little charcoal is regularly sold, at $8 to $9 

 for a burro load of two jute sacks. It is used 

 only to heat flat irons, and not in cooking. Most 

 of it comes from within the municipio, near 

 Coenembo, where the scrub oak of the old mal- 

 pnis or lava flow is used. 



Building lumber formerly was cut from near- 

 by hills, but the supply has been nearly exhaust- 

 ed. The closest source within the municipio is 

 a hill known as Tupatiro near the village of 

 Corrales. Pine and fir are the favored woods, 

 and beams and planks are brought in, cut to 

 contract as the demand may be. Tejamaniles 

 ("shingles") sell for about $15 for a load of 

 200. Though occasionally used for roofing of 

 minor structures their main use is to make the 

 floor of the attic in which maize and other crops 

 are stored. 



Octote, splinters of pitch pine, was the custom- 

 ary means of lighting before the Conquest, and 

 most families still keep a little on hand for 

 emergencies, and for lighting for fiestas, when 

 more illumination than that afforded by candles 

 or oil lamps is desirable. Most is cut in the 

 mountains to the west of the lake and brought 

 to Patzcuaro for resale. A raja, a small piece 

 about 50 cm. long, sells for $0.10 in Patzcuaro 

 and $0.15 in Tzintzuntzan. Pottery merchants 

 who go to Erongaricuaro often purchase ocote 

 there. 



Since these pine splinters burn immediately 

 when touched with a match, they are particular- 

 ly useful when starting a fire in the pottery kiln 

 or the kitchen. 



Oak and changungo wood are used for plows, 

 and ash for the occasional wooden tray which 

 may be carved out, for ox yokes, and for ox- 

 cart-wheel hubs. The colorin tree, which has a 

 brilliant red spring blossom when no leaves 

 have appeared, is pl-nted to form fences; its 

 light, soft wood is ideal for fishnet floats, and 

 occasionally as the handle for tinaja pot burn- 

 ishers. Quiote, the dry stalk of the mezcal cac- 

 tus, is highly valued as a light, strong pole to 



use as a trellis for growing chayote vines and 

 in making the sarsu, the pottery-packing crate. 

 Several soap substitutes are known, although 

 their use is dying out. Congora (Phytolacca oc- 

 tandra) produces a small tassel which is mash- 

 ed and used to wash woolen garments, or, to 

 save soap, the first washing of very dirty gar- 

 ments is done with it. Amole, an unidentified 

 tuberous plant (called chalankote in the sierra, 

 or by its Tarascan name apiipen), grows in ra- 

 vines in the hills. It is mashed with rocks and 

 ground on a metate for washing woolen gar- 

 ments. Jaboncillo, an unidentified vine which 

 grows along the lake shore, has leaves which 

 when mashed make a soap substitute. 



Mineral Products 



The extraction of clay for pottery making, 

 the principal form of mineral exploitation, 

 has already been discussed. Quarries, either 

 for clay or other substances, are commonly re- 

 ferred to as minas ("mines"). The most im- 

 portant of the nonclay mines is that known as 

 Shushwatiro, an hour distant on the slopes 

 of Tariaqueri hill. Sand for building purposes 

 is taken out with crowbars, shovels, or even 

 the hands, put in jute bags, and carried home 

 on burros or mules. Zeferino Villagomez, mu- 

 nicipal president in 1945, is the owner, and 

 allows the citizens to exploit it freely. A black 

 volcanic sandstone is cut out of the hillside and 

 from inside a cave near the La Capilla clay 

 mine. It is fashioned into columns 30 cm. in 

 diameter and 1 m. tall, to be used as the sup- 

 porting shaft for pottery kiln grates. Access 

 to this privately owned land is free to all Tzin- 

 tzuntzerios. Building rock for house founda- 

 tions is taken out of the gullies which cut through 

 several parts of town. In the past the ydcatas 

 have been exploited for building stone. Earth 

 for adobe bricks is simply taken out of the 

 patio of the house builder at the time of con- 

 struction. 



HUNTING 



Hunting might more properly come under 

 the heading of "sports," since it is engaged in 

 principally as a pastime and does not contribute 

 significantly to the alimentation of the villagers. 

 Duck hunting is, of course, an exception to this 



