CHEKAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



17 



Consequently, every Cheran male is a fairly 

 competent axman and in a pinch can produce 

 other forest products. Oak is considered far 

 superior to other woods for burning, but it is 

 becoming scarce near the town. The best sup- 

 ply is near El Pilon, several kilometers away. 



With some exceptions, most skilled woodsmen 

 work only when they have to fill definite orders. 

 In other words, no stock of lumber or shakes 

 is accumulated against possible future sales. 

 Lumber or shake workers usually are farmers 

 who supplement their income by forest prod- 

 ucts when opportunity offers. Not infrequently 

 one or two members of a large household do 

 lumbering but help in the fields when necessary 

 or when unoccupied. 



Pine is the main wood used for lumber, and 

 fir for shakes. Trees ordinarily are cut with 

 the ax (jaca). Trunks are cut in sections with 

 a saw {"sardma") (fig. 1, g), which is operated 

 by two persons. The trunks are cleared and 

 debarked with the ax. The trunk is then 

 squared by splitting off slabs ("tachones") , 

 with oak wedges some 20 cm. (8 in.) in length 

 driven by an oaken maul or the butt of the ax. 

 The slabs are used for firewood or fences. 

 Thick planks called "vigas" (anything over 2 

 inches in thickness) are then split out with 

 wedges. Before use, heavy planks usually are 

 dressed with a long-handled adz (angaru) 

 (fig. 1, e). Thinner pieces, tablas (k'ereri), 

 are sawed from squared sections of logs (pi. 4, 

 upper right). The logs are elevated on a 

 scaffolding of poles (or sometimes laid on poles 

 across a saw pit) and sawed out by a saw 

 (k'ereri ajakutarakua) about 2 m. (6 ft.) 

 long and wider at one end than at the other 

 (fig. 1, d ; pi. 3, upper right) . The handle at the 

 wide end is fixed, and that at the narrow end is 

 hooked over the teeth of the saw. Before saw- 

 ing, the block of timber is marked with a cord 

 used like a chalk line but employing charcoal 

 instead of chalk. All the planks from a block 

 of timber are usually sawed about two-thirds 

 of the length of the block ; work is then begun 

 at the opposite end. Planks customarily are 



1 centavo buys a thick piece. In Parangaricutiro, partly Mestizoized, 

 there is some cutting of firewood as a business. In one case a 

 father and three sons. 10. 12, and 15 years of age, cut a cord a 

 day (16 cartas), which sold for $1.50 (all monetary values are in 

 Mexican currency). In Paricutin two widows without grown sons 

 buy firewood. The women are not poor. 



about 1 inch thick, 6 to 8 feet long, and 6 to 8 

 inches wide. Planks cut from timber with a 

 heavy pitch content are said to last longer. 



Beams are usually squared sections of red 

 (heart) wood. They are used primarily for 

 foundations and joists and are split out by 

 wedges. 



An important product of Cheran is shakes, 

 tejamanil (tasamani). The product is all ex- 

 ported, mostly to Zacapu. Some is also taken 

 to Uruapan. Pine is rarely used for shakes, 

 as the product curls during dry weather and is 

 not as durable as shakes made from fir. How- 

 ever, fir shakes are more brittle. Fir trees 

 grow only sporadically among the pine forests 

 and must be searched for. Once a tree is 

 found, the shake maker examines it carefully, 

 studying the position of branches and estimat- 

 ing the probable straightness of the grain. If 

 the tree does not look promising, it is left. 

 Even after a tree has been felled with the ax, 

 it maj' prove unsuitable for shakes. In this 

 case it may be hewed into a beam, but it is 

 more apt to be abandoned. 



If the tree proves suitable, it is cut in lengths 

 with saw or ax and the bark is removed, to- 

 gether with any rotten or insect-eaten portions. 

 Each length is now split in sections (peri) with 

 a wedge, cima (injarukua). Each section has 

 a width of four fingers at its outer edge, and 

 a tree of average size will produce eight sec- 

 tions. One end of each section is then marked 

 with a machete along the radii of the trunk. 

 The section is first marked in the middle ; each 

 half is then divided in two, then each quarter, 

 until 16 divisions are marked. At each mark 

 the machete is driven in with blows of an oaken 

 club to a depth of about 5 cm. The shakes are 

 then split off with an oaken instrument called 

 arajador (uaT^gua). (PI. 3, lower right and left.) 



The completed shakes are thin and wedge- 

 shaped when viewed in cross section. After 

 drying in the sun for 2 or 3 hours they are tied 

 into bundles of 400 called an irepita (400 in 

 Tarascan). They are transported and sold by 

 the bundle, the price varying according to the 

 length. Different villages and Mexican mar- 

 kets have preferences for different lengths, 

 usually 4, 5, or 6 cuartas." 



^ A cuarta equals ^ of a vara (the standard measure of length, 

 about 32 inches long). 



