CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — REALS 



199 



Case 7 

 (3 people in family.) 



Hours 



Tortillas ( 'j hour morning and 



afternoon) 1 



Going to mill V2 



Carrying water, 3 ollas, twice a day % 



Preparing food M 



Marketing % 



Sweeping hi 



Shelling corn Vz 



Visiting mother daily 1 



Care of child 2 to 3 



Resting V2 



Daily minimum (exclusive of rest 

 periods) about 5 



Washing and bath, Fridays, about 4 hours. 



Case 8 

 (4 people in family.) 



Hours 



Tortillas, morning and afternoon, total 1 V2 



Going to mill . V4 to % 



Carrying water (5 to 7 ollas daily) . . % 



Preparing food % 



Sweeping (twice a week) % 



Marketing % 



Shelling corn % 



Resting ¥2 to 1 



Visiting, not every day 1 



Daily minimum (exclusive of rest- 

 ing and visiting) 5% 



Washing and bath, Wednesdays, 9 a. m. to 1 or 2 p. m. 



None of the women interviewed were too 

 poor to pay for having their maize ground. If 

 they had ground their own maize on the metate, 

 the hours of labor would have been materially 

 increased. 



In addition to learning the techniques of earn- 

 ing a living and acquiring the necessary sense 

 of responsibility to manage one's affairs, adult 

 life usually requires the learning of a number 

 of rules of behavior. Adults should know that 

 it is never proper to enter a house yard without 

 an invitation, even though it be unfenced. 

 Visitors knock on the gate or call out until an 

 invitation is given. Usually someone comes to 

 the gate to inquire what is wanted, unless the 

 person is very well known. Men are never 

 invited in unless the man of the household is 

 present. If one calls on a person about busi- 

 ness, one always stands and talks about other 

 things for a bit first. 



When one meets friends of the same sex, one 

 says "Good day," "Good afternoon," or "With 

 God" {Buenos dias, buenos tardes, adios). If 

 persons stop to talk, they touch hands in greet- 

 ing and on farewell. A person of opposite sex, 

 if well known, will be greeted in the same way 

 verbally, but the hands will not be touched and, 

 unless the persons are relatives or compadres, 

 they will not stop and talk. 



If a man visits a friend in his field or his 

 solar when he is working, he always helps a bit. 

 A woman calling at the house will help a little 

 with any work going on. If one sees a stray 

 animal and knows the owner, it is good manners 

 to take it to him ; if the owner is unknown, the 

 animal should be taken to the municipal build- 

 ing. If one is in a group and people become 

 angry, eff'orts should be made to dissuade them 

 from fighting unless they are drunk. It is all 

 right to drive another person's dog away 

 (although usually people just give strange dogs 

 a wide berth), but a pig should never be 

 molested unless it is trespassing. It is not 

 proper to punish another person's child, but if 

 he throws a rock, for example, it is all right 

 to throw rocks back. 



If you hear a piece of land is for sale and 

 do not know the owner, you get all the informa- 

 tion you can about the land and then send the 

 person giving the information to talk to the 

 owner. If you know the owner you go your- 

 self. Most commonly the owner will come to 

 you. It is proper to stand and talk about other 

 things for a while and then make an appoint- 

 ment to go to see the land. On the trip, the 

 final arrangements about the price are usually 

 thrashed out if you decide to buy the land. 

 Then you go together to the municipal building 

 and have a bill of sale made out, for which 

 you pay. 



At meals the oldest man present is served 

 first, unless there is a male guest present. 

 Then the other men are served and then the 

 women and children. Of course, there are 

 always the small children who come about 

 pestering their mothers for a tortilla and, as 

 Agustin remarked, "Of course you want to get 

 rid of those guys first." When water is passed 

 around and one drinks out of a common pitcher, 

 it is polite to pour a little water on the ground, 



