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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



Total income is calculated at $250, including 

 $25 in kind, representing in part the honey from 

 Paulino's beehives, plus a little fruit and a few 

 eggs. Per capita maize consumption is 150 

 liters, representing 27 percent of the total bud- 

 get and 38 percent of the food budget. Bean 

 consumption is 25 liters per person. Meat and 

 fish show up remarkably well, but fruits and 

 sweets are almost nonexistent. Food represents 

 70 percent of the entire budget. Obviously, the 

 available food is not nearly adequate. 



Severiano Urbano budget {March 1 to April 

 28, 1945). — This budget, while not the lowest 

 in actual money, suggests that the family has 

 the lowest per capita income, amounting to only 

 $90 per person, of any of the families studied 

 in Tzintzuntzan. The nixtamal mill can be af- 

 forded only on some days; note how it is patron- 

 ized almost steadily after the two pay days, and 

 how its use falls off when the family coffers 

 are running low. Milk is absent from the list 

 of purchases, and bread and sugar are taken 

 "but rarely. No purchases of clothing were made 

 during the period under observation. Most of 

 the small amount dedicated to this purpose 

 would be spent before the Rescate fiesta. Total 

 family income — most of which would be from 

 pottery, Severiano's normal profession — is es- 

 timated at $450, of which $25 is covered by 

 fruit, an occasional egg, and a chicken or two 

 from the family possessions. Maize consumption 

 is estimated at 600 liters, an average of 120 

 liters per person, worth $135 and representing 

 30 percent of the total budget and 41 percent 

 of the estimated food budget of $325. Twenty 

 liters of beans per person, a total of 100 liters, 

 worth $30 are consumed. Meat and fish repre- 

 sent $30, while fruits and sweets are at the 

 very low figure of $10. Clothing has been esti- 

 mated at $75, which would seem to be about 

 the absolute minimum possible, leaving only $50 

 to take care of all other expenditures. Food is 

 calculated at 72 percent of the entire budget, 

 the highest proportion of any family studied. 

 Obviously, minimum necessities for health are 

 not nearly met by the income of this group. 



A puzzling lack in the detailed family bud- 

 gets is money contributed to the Church. The 

 few small items entered would not indicate 

 enough money to maintain the buildings and 

 priest. The significance of this did not occur 

 to me during the budget periods, and I failed to 



ask especially about it. It looks as if Church 

 contributions, either in cash or kind, are not 

 normally thought of as living expenses, and that 

 they were largely overlooked in the study of ex- 

 penditures. 



Noteworthy is the fact that nearly all produc- 

 tive enterprises, as reflected in family budgets, 

 require moderate to considerable investments 

 before income accrues to the family. This in- 

 vestment is least in the case of potters, and 

 involves no more than the glaze. Yet, in the 

 course of a year, this may run to several hun- 

 dred pesos. The fisherman's expenditures are 

 not here shown, but are much heavier, involving 

 canoes and nets as capital equipment. The farm- 

 er, likewise, has money tied up in domestic ani- 

 mals, seed, and perhaps hired help before any 

 income is available. And the rescaton, buying 

 a little pottery one day, more the next day, may 

 have $100 or more invested before he sets out 

 on his trip. 



An estimate of the minimum per capita in- 

 come necessary to maintain health and working 

 efficiency for an average family of parents and 

 three or four children involves a good deal of 

 guess work. From $250 to $300 would appear 

 to be a very minimum, enough for an adequate 

 diet, clothes, and shelter, but not adequate to 

 include many frills. From $400 to $500 should 

 be ample to feed, clothe, and shelter the average 

 family, with money left over for more incident- 

 als and — as far as is readily available — med- 

 ical service. Per capita income in excess of about 

 $500 puts a family very definitely in the priv- 

 ileged category. Per capita income of less than 

 $250 appears to be insufficient to maintain min- 

 imum health and diet standards. Perhaps a 

 fourth of the village would fall into this cat- 

 egory. 



FOOD 



The relationship of basic food expenditures 

 to the family budget requires a consideration of 

 food habits. Though no attempt was made to 

 study diet in an exhaustive form, useful data 

 were obtained. Food diaries were kept for seven 

 families — all of those for which work sched- 

 ules and budgets were kept except Paulino Vaz- 

 quez — for periods of from a month to 6 weeks. 

 They were discontinued after tliis period because 

 the additional information did not appear to 

 compensate for the great amount of time spent 



