empire's children: the people of TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



pairs of calzones, three shirts, a silk shirt, three 

 pairs of underpants, three undershirts, one hat, 

 three pairs of socks, a handkerchief, a pair of 

 huaraches, a new pair of shoes every 3 years, 

 and a new gabdn or serape every 3 years. Nati- 

 vidad needs two slips, two petticoats, two dress- 

 es, two aprons, three blouses, six pairs of stock- 

 ings, three handkerchiefs, three underblouses, a 

 bayeta skirt, a cotton skirt, a satin apron, one 

 or two new pairs of shoes, a rebozo every 3 

 years, and a sash every 5 years. New prices are 

 given in the section on clothing. Each year Gau- 

 dencio needs one pair of pants, four calzones, 

 three shirts, a blouse, a pair of huaraches, three 

 suits of underwear, a hat, and a new serape. The 

 girls need five dresses, three slips and under- 

 pants, two blouses, a couple of handkerchiefs, 

 and every second year, a new rebozo. Food and 

 dress expenses leave $955 for other purposes. 

 A considerable part of this goes into capital 

 improvements — purchase of burros, construc- 

 tion of or additions to the house, and the like. 

 Hernandez budget [March 6 to June 6, 1945). 

 — The crude figures of this budget are swollen 

 because of the inclusion of relatively high busi- 

 ness expenses. A total of $199.45 was spent 

 for pottery to be resold; hence, family expend- 

 itures should be reduced by about a third to 

 have a truer picture of reality. The apparently 

 unbalanced budget is due to the fact that on 

 June 6 Melesio had $97.50 worth of unsold pot- 

 tery. Rescaton trips would result in a clear 

 profit of about $100. Thus, this budget shows 

 an approximate balance for the 3-month per- 

 iod. The family produces its own beans, chick- 

 ens, eggs, squash, milk (in abundance), a lit- 

 tle cheese and butter, and most of its maize. 

 Likewise, it makes its own clothes and agricul- 

 tural implements. Hence, less than half of the 

 annual income is in cash and subject to the di- 

 rect analysis of the budget. Barter — a plow for 

 25 liters of maize (calculated at $6) — accounts 

 for only 1 percent of the total budget. "Other" 

 expenditures include payment of a $20 debt, 

 $10 for chairs, $2 for a chicken, and lesser 

 amounts for cornstarch, broadbeans, bless- 

 ed palm, and the like. Melesio participated in 

 the firing of a mezcal oven only twice, selling 

 his entire share for $10 each time to the other 

 men, for resale. Except for the $20 on April 

 22, which represents Francisco's pay for a short 

 stretch on the highway, the rest of the income 



159 



in this column is that for Eucario, who watched 

 livestock of other families. The "other" entry 

 is a load of zacate fodder delivered by Melesio. 



All family income is estimated at $4,000. 

 Due to the large amount of agricultural produce 

 which could not be measured, there is room for 

 a good deal of error here. Any revision, how- 

 ever, would be upward rather than downward. 

 Minimum per capita income works out at $400. 

 The family standard of living appears to be as 

 high as that of the Rendon family, which has a 

 somewhat higher per capita income. Income 

 from the making of plows and yokes, from sell- 

 ing pottery, from the wages of the boys, and 

 from sewing amounts to at least $1,800. Maize 

 represents perhaps $700; wheat, $500; beans, 

 $350; milk and dairy products, $600; and 

 chickens, eggs, and fruit, $50. The family eats 

 relatively less bread than the Rendons, and 

 slightly more maize — 2,500 liters, or 250 per 

 person. This represents 14 percent of the total 

 budget and 28 percent of the food budget. Beans 

 are eaten in much greater quantities, 50 liters 

 per person. Most of the dairy products are eat- 

 en by the family, and, almost unique in the 

 village, Micaela insists on first boiling milk. As 

 estimated, food accounts for an even half of the 

 yearly budget. The figure for clothing is rela- 

 tively lower than that of the Rendon family, 

 since the women of the family make most of 

 the garments and hence save this expense. 



Melchor budget [March 1 to April 26, 1945). 

 — In many respects this is one of the most re- 

 vealing of all budgets. Except for a small 

 amount of wheat and maize which comes from 

 share cropped land, all of the family income is 

 in cash, primarily from pottery and secondarily, 

 during the spring, from the sale of mezcal. The 

 pottery income is close to the absolute maximiun 

 which a family of this size could hope to earn, 

 and represents steady and hard work. No bar- 

 tered goods were recorded during the period. 



Total annual income is estimated at $2,350, 

 of which only $200 is in kind, mostly Eleu- 

 terio's share from his small milpa which he 

 has worked on a share crop basis. Per capita 

 income is $336. The very strenuous work of the 

 entire family is reflected in the large amounts 

 of food eaten, representing 64 percent of the 

 family budget. Maize is the largest item, 2,200 

 liters, or 314 per capita, including small chil- 

 dren. This represents 21 percent of the entire 



