empire's children: the people of TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



155 



chases for the day, a second makes tortillas and 

 cooks, and a third cleans house. Then, by early 

 afternoon, they are ready to sew, varying this 

 procedure occasionally by visiting with friends, 

 or washing and ironing clothing. Francisco does 

 much of the routine work a father normally 

 does: bringing firewood, fodder for the animals, 

 or repairing fences, leaving Melesio free for his 

 trips and intensive farming. Francisco also helps 

 with farming, and finds time, in a slack spell, 

 to work as a peon on the highway or in the 

 fields of other farmers. Eucario, who watches 

 the family livestock in the hills and who is paid 

 as well to tend that of other owners, actually 

 works much less than the chart suggests. His 

 shepherding job means, simply, visits to the 

 hills to see that the animals stay together, milk- 

 ing, and the like. He is often home early in the 

 afternoon to join other boys of his age loafing 

 or playing basketball. As in the case of the 

 Rendon family, work is predicated on the knowl- 

 edge that the family productivity can meet all 

 requirements, and that a day or an afternoon 

 off for a trip or a visit is time well spent. 



Melchor family. — This is the hardest work- 

 ing family of all those surveyed. The constant 

 attention to pottery making culminates, usually, 

 in one fantastic day and night a week when the 

 pots are fired in the afternoon, and while they 

 are baking, glaze is ground and mixed. As soon 

 as the hot vessels can be removed they are glaz- 

 ed, reloaded in the kiln and fired, and as soon 

 as the kiln has slightly cooled, removed with 

 sticks to cool more rapidly. Then pack animals 

 are loaded, and Eleuterio goes off, with no sleep, 

 on a selling trip. I know of no other family 

 which maintains this killing pace; firing pots, 

 glazing, and re-firing is a 2-day schedule for the 

 average family. Aurelia, the mother, relegates 

 a large part of her household duties to her 

 daughter. Carmen, so that she will have more 

 time to devote to pottery. During most of the 

 period under study, Leonardo worked with a 

 group of three other men exploiting the mezcal 

 cactus. His work followed a regular pattern: 

 Monday, cutting firewood for the earth oven; 

 Tuesday, cutting the mezcal hearts; and Wednes- 

 day, firing the oven and placing the mezcal. On 

 Thursdays and Fridays, while the mezcal baked, 

 he was free to help at home with other chores. 

 Friday evening he went to the oven in the hills, 

 to pass the night wrapped in his serape, so that 



even before dawn he could join the others in 

 the task of uncovering the cooked food. 



Alejandro Urbano family. — As compared to 

 the first three families, there is relatively less 

 cooperative work involving these three people. 

 Alejandro's work is desultory, and interrupted 

 by long spells of drinking. Hence, Margarita 

 is the principal breadwinner, aided by Irineo 

 who, during the period of the study, worked 

 constantly on the highway. Margarita makes 

 pottery, even occasionally going to the clay mine. 

 Supplementing this work is bread making, at 

 which she is aided by Alejandro. 



Jesus Molinero family. — Jesiis is, I suspect, 

 10 years older than the 56 years which figure 

 in the census. Although capable of a good deal 

 of work, he lacks the strength for continuous 

 hard labor expected of a young or middle-aged 

 man. His pottery making is limited, for the 

 most part, to bringing clay and firewood, and 

 to supervising the firing of the kiln. The actual 

 making of pots is done by his wife and daugh- 

 ter, who alternate with the chores of the house. 

 Jesus is the clarin trumpet player of greatest 

 renown in Tzintzuntzan, and hence during a 

 part of this period was required for Church mat- 

 ters. At other times he devoted himself to shoe 

 repairing. Hilario, the son, worked on the high- 

 way except for a period when he felt ill, and 

 did nothing more than a few odd jobs around 

 the house. 



Romulo Molinero family. — During the period 

 under surveillance, Romulo and his wife, Tere- 

 sa, did about as little work as is possible to 

 stay alive. Police duties enter frequently as the 

 work of Romulo, though such duties usually 

 involve nothing more strenuous than running an 

 errand, taking a message, or something of the 

 sort. He also spent a great deal of time drink- 

 ing. Teresa, without the help of her husband, 

 made a half-hearted attempt to make a little 

 pottery, but as has been pointed out, for a single 

 person this is difficult and inefficient. 



Vazquez family. — Paulino suffers from ill 

 health, and his mother is very old. Hence, rel- 

 atively little work — less than appears in the 

 chart — is expectable and understandable. The 

 frequent trips for firewood and to the clay mine 

 are due to the fact that Paulino has no burro, 

 and hence must carry all of this material on his 

 back. With such a handicap it is surprising that 

 any work at all is turned out. Occasionally he 



