EMPIRES children: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



289 



from the beginning that the wealth goal is dif- 

 ficult and almost impossible of attainment; 

 hence, the stim.ulus of a reasonable chance of 

 success is lacking. Since one's own life is so 

 much a series of frustrations one takes pleasure 

 in noting the difficulties of neighbors, even 

 though, as in the case of Jose's truck (p. 280), it 

 is a case of biting off the nose to spite the face. 

 Consciously or unconsciously the average Tzin- 

 tzuntzeiio realizes that in a material way he prob- 

 ably never will advance far. Hence, he envies, 

 criticizes, and abuses his rare neighbor who 

 does so, meanwhile further neglecting his own 

 work. 



Successful participation in Church affairs, on 

 the other hand, is open to many more people; 

 in fact, reasonable personal satisfaction is pos- 

 sible to almost everyone. Perhaps this explains 

 why the Church is such a vital, living facet of 

 life. Real satisfaction in the Church comes pri- 

 marily through fulfilling the obligations of a 

 carguero. Though this implies a considerable 

 expenditure of money, it need be done only once 

 in the lifetime of the individual, and most fam- 

 ilies, by some means, are able to collect the 

 necessary sums. Moreover, the number of posts 

 open each year — until very recent years, at 

 least — has been sufficient so that everybody who 

 wanted to serve could find an opening. Hence, 

 the nonmaterial goals of life — the respect and 

 esteem of one's fellows, and reasonable certainty 

 about the hereafter — are within the reach, 

 through the medium of the Church, of almost 

 everyone. Obviously, surplus energies will be 

 channeled in the direction where there is a good 

 chance of success. 



To explore further the causes of the lethargy 

 of the average Tzintzuntzeiio would necessitate a 

 survey of the health of the community and a 

 more detailed study of the diet. Many families, 

 I am sure, will be found to be suffering from 

 malnutrition and poor health to such an extent 

 as to affect the ability and will to work. Other 

 families, I am convinced, will be found to enjoy 

 health and nutrition that is adequate in every 

 reasonable sense of the word. These are the 

 families which are able to provide for them- 

 selves a standard of living which, in terms of 

 national means, can be called near-satisfactory. 

 But why aren't real leaders produced from 

 these families, why do the men hang back from 



responsibility and initiative, just as the obvious- 

 ly undernourished? It is apparent that biolog- 

 ical factors influence cultural factors, and cul- 

 tural factors influence biological factors. 



It is interesting, and perhaps not entirely 

 fruitless, to speculate about the future course 

 of Tzintzuntzan. In the chapter on the domestic 

 economy, it was stated that an average annual 

 income of from $400 to .^500 per person would, 

 at 1945 price levels, provide a reasonable stand- 

 ard of living in terms of local and national 

 levels. What are the possibilities that such a 

 goal, with foresight and planning, could be at- 

 tained by the majority of families? The answer 

 is, based on present techniques of production 

 and distribution, "extremely unlikely." 



Agriculture (either as a main or secondary 

 occupation), as has been shown, is essential to 

 a standard of living above the barest "adequate" 

 level. ^ Eleuterio Melchor and his family live 

 fairly well from pottery alone, though their 

 income is considerably below the suggested fig- 

 ure. Other potter families, presumably, could 

 approach or equal this figure with a similar 

 amount of work. This guess, however, is predi- 

 cated on the assumption that other pottery-mak- 

 ing villages in the area do not increase signifi- 

 cantly their production, and hence, through much 

 greater supply, force down prices. Any con- 

 clusions as to how the level of living in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan could be raised ought to be applicable, 

 in a general way, to other rural villages as 

 well. Hence, the answer must be sought in an- 

 other direction. 



The family workshop system of pottery mak- 

 ing, fascinating as it is to watch, must be rec- 

 ognized for what it is, a system so inefficient 

 that it cannot survive in a society which is to 

 raise living standards above the merest subsist- 

 ence level. Larger cooperative units, the use 

 of the wheel, big kilns, and effective methods 

 of distribution could produce far more pottery 

 with less work. Cookery with clay pots rather 

 than aluminum is not, as one might assume, 

 an inefficient and outmoded technique of food 

 preparation. The vessels are cheap, and the 

 results equal to the best attained by other meth- 

 ods. Hence, it is logical to assume a continued 

 market for pottery in Mexico for an indefinite 

 period in the future. In terms of the local and 



1 Storekeepers are excepted from this statement. 



