CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



59 



Recognition of the interrelations of various 

 economic activities in different regions is not 

 a new idea to the Tarascans. The economy of 

 the region tends toward individual and local 

 specialization with a consequent high develop- 

 ment of trade. While undoubtedly the majority 

 of the Tarascans are members of self-sufficient 

 family groups so far as the bare necessities of 

 existence are concerned, very large numbers 

 are partly or wholly dependent upon employ- 

 ment, manufactures, or trade. Consequently, 

 the internal economy of a Tarascan village not 

 only is complex by primitive standards but also 

 fits into tribal and extratribal patterns of even 

 greater complexity. Quite apart from rela- 

 tions with the national economy of Mexico, and, 

 through it, with international economy, large 

 numbers of Tarascans have been traders and 

 middlemen on a large scale. Not only have 

 they carried local products from Tarascan vil- 

 lage to Tarascan village, or outside the Tara- 

 scan area; they have bought goods in non- 

 Tarascan areas to sell in other non-Tarascan 

 areas. The study of Cheran economy, then, 

 must be considered an incomplete picture of 

 Tarascan economy just as the study of the 

 economics of a single small town would inade- 

 quately describe the economics of the United 

 States. 



The following tabulation gives the units of 

 measure used in Cheran. 



Cheran units of measure 



Dry measure 

 1 litro — 1 liter, or 0.908 quart 

 1 medida = 5 litros 

 1 fancc/a = 20 mcdidas, or 100 litros, or 1 hectalitro 



Weight' 

 1 libra = 1 pound 

 1 kilo = 2.2 libras 

 1 arroba = 11.5 kilos 

 1 carga = 161 kilos or 14 arrobas 

 1 burro load = V2 carga (approx.), 7 or 8 arrobas 

 1 mule load = 1 carga (approx.), 14 to 18 arrobas 



Capacity 



1 euartillo = 1 pint or V2 liter 



1 litro = 1 quart (approx.) or 1 liter 



1 decalitro = 10 litros 



Square measure 



1 hectarca (hectare) = a piece of land about 10,000 sq. 

 paces or 10,000 sq. m. 



1 The beam balance is widely used for determining weight. 



Cuhic ryttasurc (uaed in 7nasotiry) 



1 barra = 1 yd. x 1 yd. X 16 in. 

 1 metro = 1 111. X 1 m. X 50 cm. 



PRODUCTION 



Production in Cheran depends more directly 

 upon the land than it does in most other Taras- 

 can villages. Although the land ultimately is 

 the source of all Tarascan raw materials, some 

 industries require relatively few of such ma- 

 terials. In some cases — for example, the straw 

 hat industry — all the raw materials are imported 

 from outside the Tarascan area. Even more 

 numerous are instances where the raw mater- 

 ials are secured from some other Tarascan 

 town. 



While Cherjln economy is primarily self- 

 sufficient in character, it is less so than are 

 most Indian economies of Mexico. Cheran 

 does supply most of its own basic food and 

 housing needs, but it does not supply its own 

 clothing. Moreover, many foods every Cheran 

 resident desires are not produced locally. 

 Numerous Cheran families also depend on 

 wages more than upon their own direct exploi- 

 tation of the land or upon industry. Finally, 

 Cheran produces many goods for export, al- 

 though to a far less degree than neighboring 

 Paracho. 



LAND 



Tarascan land is of three main types : farm, 

 forest, and residential. To these might be 

 added public roads, water courses, and mineral 

 deposits. The latter are relatively unimpor- 

 tant. Public roads and trails of course serve 

 communications and do not enter directly into 

 production. Water courses are also mainly in 

 the public domain. Virtually their only use is 

 to supply drinking water for man and beast and 

 for washing purposes. Public lands also sup- 

 ply the small requirements of sand, clay, and 

 building stone. 



All permanent farm lands are privately 

 owned. The only exceptions are occasional 

 temporary fields cleared from the forest on 

 lands too steep for cultivation for more than a 

 few years. On the farm lands the major prod- 

 ucts are white or yellow maize and wheat. 

 Beans, squash, fruits, oats, and barley are 

 produced only in small quantities. 



