CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



47 



arrangement guarantees an adequate number 

 of customers each day a mill is operating. 



The miller must have some mechanical knowl- 

 edge as well as capital and business ability. 

 Most of the mills are driven bj' an old automo- 

 bile engine converted to operate on gas pro- 

 duced by a charcoal burner, usually made from 

 an old oil drum. A belt drive transmits power 

 and reduces the speed. Usually the owner (or 

 manager in some cases) supervises the motor 

 and the gas burner and an employee or member 

 of the family feeds the maize into the mill and 

 collects the charge, 1 centavo a kilo. In one 

 case a woman occupied this post, but most of 

 the mill operators are men. 



Except for a few very poor families, every- 

 one in Cheran now patronizes the mills. Each 

 mill serves from about 330 to 360 customers 

 a day. 



Wheat threshing. — One wood-burning steam- 

 driven threshing machine has operated in 

 Cheran for several years. The machine is 

 stationary (although it could be moved, it is 

 too cumbersome to do so), and the customers 

 bring their wheat to the machine. Two tenders, 

 who feed the wheat into the machine, and a 

 water carrier are required besides the operator. 

 Firewood is purchased. Exclusive of interest 

 on the investment and repairs, the operator 

 nets about 25 pesos a day above operating 

 expenses. 



In 1940 a smaller gasoline-driven thresher, 

 which could be moved from house to house, was 

 said to have made considerable inroads on the 

 trade. However, as the bulk of the Cherjin 

 wheat is still threshed by hand, there seemed 

 to be ample business for both threshing 

 machines. 



Painters and plasterers. — This is a rare occu- 

 pation followed by two or three men on a part- 

 time basis. Only a minority of the houses of 

 adobe or stone are plastered, and few of them 

 are painted. The pay is fairly good, but the 

 best worker probably does not put in more than 

 90 days' work a year. Brushes and stencils 

 are used in painting. 



Masons. — As the house owner normally pro- 

 vides all materials, the mason sells only his 

 services. His equipment is a trowel, hammer, 

 a board frame for holding mud mortar, a shovel 

 for mixing mortar, an ax to cut poles for 



scaffolding, and string to line up the walls. 

 Perhaps a dozen men do masonry, mostly as a 

 secondary occupation. Work is usually charged 

 for on the basis of square meters of wall. 



Barbers. — Most men in Cheran now have 

 their hair cut by a barber. There are two 

 barbers in town regularly, and more come to 

 town during fiestas. The Cheran barbers also 

 visit nearby towns during fiestas. During the 

 middle of the week they have little trade. 



Formerly men cut each other's hair for noth- 

 ing in the bull ring on Sundays, using only 

 scissors. The barbers have clippers as well 

 and also razors for shaving, although there is 

 not much demand for the latter. One barber 

 is not a native; the other learned the trade in 

 the United States. 



Water carriers. — In most households the 

 women bring the water from the fountain or 

 aqueduct in ollas carried on their shoulders. 

 However, for any commercial use (nixtanial 

 mill, masonry, the threshing machine) water is 

 carried by men. In addition, there is one man 

 who makes his living carrying water for store- 

 keepers, whose wives may be too bu.sy helping 

 in the store, and for a few families who are 

 somewhat Mestizoized and the husband has 

 decided the work is too hard for the women. 



Interestingly enough, the men's method of 

 water carrying is entirely different from that 

 of the women. Men carry water in two 5-gal- 

 lon cans suspended from the two ends of a pole 

 which is supported on the shoulder. This rigid 

 dichotomy is observed even in families where 

 one of the men or boys brings the bulk of the 

 water. If the women need to bring additional 

 water, they always use ollas and make several 

 trips. 



FOOD PROCESSING AND DIET 



Consideration of food processing in this 

 section is confined primarily to household activi- 

 ties. Commercial processing of food for sale, 

 such as baking, butchering, and ice cream 

 making, will be considered later. 



The storage of food is confined primarily to 

 maize, wheat, beans, and broadbeans (habas) . 

 Except for small supplies for immediate use, 

 stores are kept in the house, usually in the loft. 

 Maize is stored on the cob. Wheat, beans, and 

 similar seeds are stored in gunny sacks or in 



