46 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



Shoemaking. — One master shoemaker with 

 two apprentices makes shoes of locally pro- 

 duced leather. The apprentices get no pay, 

 working from 6 months to a year in order to 

 learn the trade. The master shoemaker 

 learned in the same way. The techniques pre- 

 sent no unusual points of interest. 



Equipment includes a sewing machine, lasts, 

 knives, and awls. The master shoemaker not 

 only must know his trade, but also he must be 

 able to judge hides and tanning and be a good 

 buyer. Only a portion of the Cheran demand 

 is supplied locally, and many consider the local 

 shoes inferior to those from outside. 



At least three men make guarachcs to order 

 on a part-time basis. Guarache making does 

 not require a sewing machine, and the capital 

 required is small. Most guarachcs are im- 

 ported. The type is described in connection 

 with clothing. 



Ropeandtwine. — One man makes kite .strings 

 during the kite season in March. No interview 

 could be secured with this man. Another man 

 specializes in horsehair lead ropes and maguey 

 fiber riafas. A fairly complex twisting device 

 is used (fig. 10). 



Hair briLshcs. — One family of foui" makes its 

 entire living by manufacturing brushes of raiz 

 de paja. The family collects its own raw ma- 

 terials and dries the roots. Brushes are made 

 by fastening bunches of root in metal rings of 

 about 1-inch diameter, then trimming the ends 

 off square. 



Masks. — One family makes wooden masks to 

 order, charging about 2 pesos a piece. The 

 workmanship is very poor and most masks are 

 bought in other towns, especially Sevina and 

 Cheranastico. The local masks are cheaper 

 and much easier to buy, but most people would 

 go to considerable trouble to get the out-of- 

 town product. 



SPECIALIZED SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 



A number of occupations are characterized 

 by the selling of services requiring specialized 

 knowledge rather than the sale of goods trans- 

 formed from raw material. Certain types of 

 trading occupations, such as storekeeping, 

 could logically be included here, but their con- 

 sideration is deferred to the section on econom- 

 ics. Other skilled specialists dealing in purely 



non-material things, such as "prayers" or 

 rezadores, midwives, curers, and witches, are 

 also left for consideration in other sections of 

 this paper. 



Butchers. — Except {ormaijordoniias and large 

 weddings, butchering of cattle and pigs is car- 

 ried on by a group of specialists. Usually two 

 butchers share a beef so the stock can be moved 

 more rapidly. If the meat does not sell rapidly 

 enough, part of it may be dried. 



All cattle are butchered at a "slaughter 

 house," a stone-paved area with a ramada. The 

 property is privately owned by Seferino Fabian, 

 mayor of the town in 1940, but he made no 

 charge for its use. A ta.x is charged of 5 pesos 

 or more, depending on the size of the animal. 

 Part of the tax goes into the municipal treasury 

 and the balance is forwarded to the State 

 treasury. Usually from four to nine animals 

 a week are slaughtered. 



When cheese is scarce in the market, the 

 number of animals slaughtered is higher than 

 at other times. 



Pigs are slaughtered at the home of the 

 butcher. 



The principal skills involved are removing 

 the hide in good condition (a considerable part 

 of the profit is from the sale of the hide) and 

 in selling the right proportions of the animal. 

 Individual sales are usually small, and the 

 portions are not weighed. The customer indi- 

 cates the amount of money she has and presents 

 a bowl. The butcher cuts off proper propor- 

 tions of meat, bone, a bit of the lungs, and a bit 

 of liver. There is rarely haggling over the 

 amount; if the customer complains, the butcher 

 may add a bit more. Or, if the customer is 

 dissatisfied, she may go to another butcher. 



Shops are not open continuously. When a 

 butcher's supply is exhausted, it may be several 

 weeks before he butchers again. A red flag is 

 hung in the street to advertise that meat is 

 for sale. 



Ni.vfaDial mills. — Some seven or eight vix- 

 tamal mills in Cheran more than supply the 

 demand. To prevent ruinous competition, the 

 municipio has limited the number operating 

 on any one day to half the number. As costs 

 of operating the mill for a day are about the 

 same regardless of the number of patrons, this 



