EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



167 



New peas usually are boiled in the pod, often 

 with a little oil, and when the family wishes a 

 rest in midafternoon, they may be brought 

 outside to be eaten. Squash, roasting ears, cha- 

 yote, chayote roots, and gordas (wheat tortillas) 

 similarly are recognized as between-meals nour- 

 ishment. Milk, which appears but infrequently 

 on the chart, is often consumed by the members 

 of the Rendon and Hernandez families, usually 

 with a piece of bread, between meals. The ex- 

 tent to which these additional foods are taken 

 depends, to a large degree, on relative economic 

 levels. In some cases they are an insignificant 

 addition to the family diet, and in other cases, 

 of great importance. The family of Eleuterio 

 Melchor, for example, appears to have very lit- 

 tle variety in regular meals, yet the amounts of 

 fruit, and above all, peanuts, eaten between 

 meals, is truly astonishing. Eleuterio's wife is 

 simply an unusually busy woman, hard-pressed 

 for time between pot making and caring for 

 children. She has little time for fancy cooking, 

 so the craving for additional items is taken care 

 of by an unusual amount of between-meals nib- 

 bling. 



The American belief that good digestion is 

 promoted by eating at regular hours, particular- 

 ly with respect to growing children, is entirely 

 lacking. Eating is looked upon as a necessity 

 and as a pleasure. From the standpoint of the 

 organization of the family work schedule, it is 

 usually most convenient to eat at stated times, 

 but there is nothing sacrosanct about the meal 

 hour. One eats when one is hungry and when 

 food is available. And, as in our own society, 

 choice tid-bits at any time throughout the day 

 are often the most satisfying of any foods. Al- 

 though detailed dietary studies would be neces- 

 sary to confirm the impression, I believe that 

 those families in Tzintzuntzan in the upper in- 

 come brackets have a surprisingly adequate diet, 

 one that would compare favorably with that of 

 most families in the United States, and certainly 

 far superior to that of many of the lower income 

 groups of this country. 



The reason for such great differences in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan is hard to explain. The basic economic 

 system is such that, with hard work, any able- 

 bodied man, with the aid of his wife, can earn 

 enough to eat well. In table 33, the hardest 

 working families, the Rendons, Hernandez, and 

 Melchors, are the best eaters. Do they work 



hard because their diet gives them ample energy, 

 or do they eat well because they work hard? 

 The work schedule of Eleuterio Melchor, for 

 example, shows incredibly constant labor, in- 

 cluding one entire night a week devoted to fir- 

 ing the pottery kiln, unloading it, glazing the 

 ware, refiring, unloading, packing the animals, 

 and setting out on a sales trip. Few families 

 would care to maintain this pace. Yet he and 

 his family spend more on peanuts and fruit than 

 others spend on all foods. Apparently the re- 

 wards of good and ample food are sufficiently 

 great to justify an unusual expenditure of energy 

 to obtain them. Romulo Molinero and his wife 

 are at the other extreme. Both are young and 

 apparently healthy. Yet they do the least work 

 of any family observed, and eat the least. Dif- 

 ferential values may account for a large part 

 of the difference. A half-empty stomach is less 

 unpleasant than the thought of a heavy work 

 schedule. Romulo gives more time to the Church 

 than any other man except Jesus, his father. To 

 him, it is more important to respect real or 

 imaginary Church obligations than to work to 

 feed his wife and infant. I had decided that 

 he was the laziest, least ambitious person in 

 Tzintzuntzan. Yet, to my astonishment, he went 

 to the United States with his wife and baby 

 for 6 months of hard work. Many family heads, 

 economically in a superior position, would not 

 have the initiative and energy to take such a 

 step. The answers to many of the questions 

 raised by these dietary data can be found only 

 through a complete study of the diet habits and 

 health of selected individuals. 



It is commonly, and truthfully, stated that 

 beans and maize are the staple foods for most 

 Mexicans. It is interesting to note, as shown 

 in table 32, the relative consumption and mone- 

 tary value of these foods, and the relationship 

 of maize, the more important, to the food and 

 total expenditures of the year. Only from a 

 fifth to a tenth as many beans are eaten, by dry 

 volume measure (liters) as maize. Maize is the 

 single most important food expense, while beans, 

 even for those families which eat most, are less 

 than the meat-fish-fowl item. Families which 

 can afford all of the basic staples they want 

 consume from 150 to 300 liters of beans. The 

 exact amount spent for maize depends to a con- 

 siderable extent on the relative amount of bread 

 consumed. As the standard of living of the vil- 



