CHERAN: A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



55 



meat. At this time of year there may have 

 been a few meals with immature squash or wild 

 herbs from^ the woods, stewed with perhaps a 

 little milk or cheese and lard. 



Evelyn Payne Hatcher kindly consented to 

 attempt an analysis of the diet of Cheran. 

 The results are full of guesswork, but they 

 are at least suggestive. The results show 

 that if yellow maize was used almost exclu- 

 sively, the diet of a wealthy family would con- 

 tain no outright deliciencies and in many re- 

 spects provide more than the usual recom- 

 mended minimum amounts of various vitamins 

 and proteins and calories. A very poor family, 

 on the other hand, would show a striking de- 

 ficiency in vitamin Bi and an inadequate caloric 

 intake. Both diets would give a marked de- 

 ficiency of vitamin A if white corn were used 

 instead of yellow corn. Despite the inadequacy 

 of the data, there seems little reason to doubt 

 that in some cases, particularly among poor 

 families, deficiencies in the diet are sufficiently 

 large to have a pronounced effect upon behavior 

 and cultural participation (Beals and Hatcher, 

 1943). 



COMPARATIVE NOTES 



Some interesting comparisons are afforded by 

 data from other towns. The most complete 

 information was secured from Chilchota in La 

 Caiiada. 



Chilchota is a Mestizoized Indian town, i. e., 

 the bulk of the population is of Indian descent 

 but a number of Mestizos have moved in, the 

 native language is scarcely spoken any longer, 

 and the people regard themselves as non-Indian. 

 Customs are closely similar to those in the near- 

 by Indian towns, however. Following are some 

 menus collected by Silvia Rendon (for Cheran 

 menus, see Beals and Hatcher, 1943) : 



Chilchota menus 



Luncheons (taken about 10 or 11 a. m.; no breakfast in 

 this case) : 



Average household : 



Broiled beef 

 Boiled beans 

 Black atole 

 Chile sauce 

 Tortillas 

 596569— 4G 5 



Chile sauce 

 Tortillas 

 Coffee (black) 



Broiled beef 

 Chile sauce 

 Tortillas 



Poor household: 

 Chile sauce 

 Tortillas 



Broiled beef 

 Chile sauce 

 Tortillas 



Very poor household: 



Greens of wheat plants (boiled) 

 Tortillas 



Wealthy household: 



Pork cooked with chile 

 Fried beans 

 Tortillas 



Fried pork 

 Boiled beans 

 Milk 

 Tortillas 



Pork cooked in chile sauce (mole?) 

 Fried beans 

 Tortillas 

 Black coffee 



Dinners (2 p. m. or later) : 

 Average household: 



Meat broth with cabbage (cooked) 



Meat (beef) from which broth was made 



Boiled beans 



Tortillas 



Meat broth with cabbage 



Boiled beans 



Rice, cooked in water 



Pork broth (with rice and bitter tunas or 



prickly pears) 

 Rice boiled in water 

 Beans 

 Tortillas 



Fried rice with tomatoes 

 Pork in chile sauce 

 Tortillas 



Poor household: 

 Broth 



Meat from the broth 

 Beans boiled with chile and silantro 

 Tortillas 



Wealthy household: 

 Meat broth 

 Meat (different from that from which broth 



was made) cooked with chile 

 Beans 

 Tortillas 



