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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



stalk, is about to flower it is cut off about 2 m. 

 above the ground so that the sap remains in the 

 plant. Cactuses so treated are not exploited until 

 the following season, which is from January to 

 May. At this time the pencas, or leaves of the 

 plant, are cut off flush with the central part, 

 known as the pina. This lieart is then removed 

 and trimmed round and smooth across the top 

 and sides and flat across the bottom. The trim- 

 ming is done just at the point where the leaves 

 begin to separate and the green outer covering 

 to appear. When trimmed, each heart, from 30 

 to 80 cm. in diameter and almost as high, looks 

 much like an Eskimo igloo. 



A number of tender quiotcs are cleaned to be 

 roasted, some still left attached to the heart. 

 Because they are less fibrous, they are consider- 

 ed better eating than the leaf butts of which 

 the heart is composed. The largest hearts are 

 cut into halves so that they will roast more 

 thoroughly. Since several men work together 

 in building and loading an oven, but separately 

 in cutting and trimming the mezcal plants, 

 brands are required to distinguish the property 

 of each individual. One mark noted is a notch 

 or groove along the base in the center of the 

 stock; a second is a round hole in the same 

 place; a third is a notch at the top of the heart 

 at the point where the stock emerges, while the 

 mark of the fourth is the very absence of any 

 identifying sign. 



Mezcal is prepared in weekly cycles. Fire- 

 wood is gathered on Monday, and on Tuesday 

 the plants are cut and trimmed. At dawn on 

 Wednesday, the oven — a hole in the ground 

 about 1.75 m. deep and about 3 m. wide at the 

 top — is fii'ed with oak wood. After there is a 

 good bed of coals, a covering of small stones 

 is added, filling the oven to within about 35 cm. 

 of ground level. These rocks heat until all ex- 

 cept those on the very top are red hot. Mean- 

 while the men bring in the hearts, left at their 

 place of cutting the day before, and the identify- 

 ing marks are placed. Between 200 and 300 

 leaves from the same plants are also brought to 

 be used for covering the oven. By about 3 

 o'clock in the afternoon, the fire has died down 

 and the process of placing the hearts, butt end 

 down, begins. Wlien the oven is fully loaded, 

 the mezcal projects well over a meter above the 

 earth level. Finally, the stocks, from 25 to 50 

 cm. long, are placed on top. The leaves used in 



covering are placed, butt ends down, between 

 the lowest layer of hearts and the earth, and are 

 held in place by sticking their own sharp points 

 into the mezcal itself. Then follows a second 

 shingling in this fashion, and finally there is a 

 crisscross of leaves laid across the top. The 

 work is done neatly and thoroughly and the pile 

 that results looks almost like a little hovel or 

 house. Finally, the mass is covered to a depth 

 of 15 cm. with earth scraped up from around 

 the base. This is said to extinguish the fire al- 

 most immediately, and in the steam which re- 

 sults from the contact of the watery liearts with 

 hot rocks, the mezcal cooks until Saturday mor- 

 ning. 



Usually, the men who make mezcal sleep by 

 the oven all Friday night to be able to open it 

 before dawn. By 9 o'clock, the contents will 

 have been removed and much of it carried to 

 the village below. The mezcal leaves are a rich- 

 brown color, and because of the steaming have 

 opened apart so that they can be torn out with- 

 out the use of a knife. Perhaps 25 percent or 

 more are charred where they came into contact 

 with red-hot rocks. This reduces the value of 

 the damaged parts, but does not ruin the heart 

 itself. 



Much of die mezcal is sold in Tzintzuntzan 

 itself for $0.10 a piece. When the season is 

 well under way, merchants come from Morelia, 

 Zacapu, and other equally distant places to carry 

 the product to their own towns. Some goes to 

 the Sunday market in Patzcuaro. 



A number of superstitions are connected with 

 mezcal. The mezcaleros should not wash them- 

 selves or their clothing or put on clean clothes 

 the day they fire the oven; if so, the cooked 

 mezcal does not take on the rich-brown color, 

 but remains whitish. They must not comb their 

 hair on this day; otherwise a poor texture re- 

 sults. Chile is likewise taboo this day, for if it 

 is eaten, the mezcal bites the tongue. One must 

 not delouse oneself while mezcal is in the oven, 

 for fear the cooked product will have tiny spots 

 resembling lice eggs. While mezcal is in the 

 oven, the makers must not drink pulque, other- 

 wise the cooked product will have the undesir- 

 able color of pulque; nor must they stack ocote, 

 which would cause the mezcal to be bitter. For- 

 merly the man in charge of the oven danced 

 around it while it was being covered, eating pi- 

 loncillo (crude brown sugar) to ensure a sweet 



