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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 1 



room, the number depending upon the economic 

 status of tbe famOy. They are rarely used except 

 to seat visitors. Tin trunks or wooden chests are 

 usually found for storage of clothing. Clotliiiig 

 may also be hung on a pole extending from front 

 to back wall. A sewing machine is a fairly com- 

 mon item of equipment. Rather rarely, the room 

 will contain a wooden bedstead; this again is used 



Figure 15. — Fire hearth of stones, a, 

 for comal. 



Space for pots; b, space 



only for guests, when mats are spread over the 

 bed. In emergencies, the room may also be used 

 for the storage of harvests. A portion of the 

 veranda may also bo boarded for tliis pm-pose. 

 The second floor is customarily used to store maize 

 on the cob. 



The kitchen always has a hearth on the ground, | 

 usually made with sLx stones (parangua), arranged i 

 as in figure 15. Infrequently, the hearth or stove ! 

 is of clay (fig. 16). Space is provided for three ■ 

 fire places, one (fig. 15, b) for the comal or tortilla 

 baking dish, and two (a-a) for cooking pots, j 

 This hearth is usually at one side of the structure. 1 

 Near the fire a branched stick (CuriT/gu) is set in ; 

 the ground; on this stick pitch-pine splinters ; 

 (k'uenimu) are bm-ncd for light at night. At the : 

 back of the kitchen are one or two shelves, 

 "tinajera," (pldtu jatdkua). On the upper are' 

 the old oUas and large vessels. On the bottom 

 are new oLIas (pm-eci), plates (platu), jars (i^Ama- . 

 tarakua), wooden spoons (ioJesA), and knives ' 

 (ku66). Below the shelves on the ground, are , 

 the three-legged metates (iaudri), molcajeles (jium- ' 

 atakua), comales (eroksA), and large water jugs 

 (k'amiikua), including one set on a fiber ring 

 (uanjfAri) containing drinking water. Also on 

 the ground are baskets (fiAki^ta), tortilla baskets 

 ("tascal," kuatdsA), and gourds (uJani). Either I 

 on the floor or on the shelf may be wooden bowls 

 (batie6a), other types of baskets (j^Akiata kanimu 

 and Siindi, "chundi"), and fire fans (p' unitatara- 

 kua). All the manufactured articles are imported. 



The metate, when in use, is placed on a plank 

 beside the fire. At night, it is removed and mats 



TORTILLA 'fe^;^/| 

 Figure 16. — Utensils and furnishings commonlv found in a Chcian kitchen. 



