CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN TARASCAN AREA—WEST 4] 
special uses: e. g. because of its sweet flavor, it is 
eaten only with silacayote (Cucurbita ficifolia) ; in 
Thuatzio it is ground with black maize to make 
pinole. 
Lima beans (P. lunatus) may have been common 
formerly in Tarascan agriculture in the tierra 
caliente. In Acahuato, a former Tarascan pueblo 
(5 km. north of Apatzingdn), a climbing brown- 
seeded lima called comba is still grown in the 
house-lot gardens. According to local informants, 
it was formerly an important bean in the Tepal- 
catepec Basin.”? Moreover, the writer found a 
wild climbing lima in the hedge rows in the tierra 
templada, near Los Reyes. 
Cultivation methods ——Except in some highly 
developed irrigation districts, most Mexican 
peasant farmers still use the ancient Indian 
method of planting beans with maize. In plow- 
land Tarascans customarily alternate plantings of 
beans and corn along a given row (planted 
inter calado), whereas in hoe land beans and maize 
seeds are dropped in the same hole.” In either 
case the bean vine uses the maize stock as a 
climbing support, and imparts nitrogen to the 
soil. Beans are gathered in late fall or in early 
winter a few days before the maize harvest. When 
men are busy at other tasks, women and children 
gather the bean crop. Women sometimes plant 
beans with elote maize in the ekudsu; or often they 
plant beans alone, using poles for vine supports. 
In many Tarascan pueblos bean production is 
declining; in some, farmers have ceased its culti- 
vation. They claim that it is cheaper to buy 
frijol rather than to plant it, since the time and 
labor involved can be used more profitably at 
other tasks (e. g. lumbering). Others say that 
the soil lacks sufficient fertility to mature a bean 
crop. Again, in some sections of the Sierra beans 
are cultivated (with maize) only in newly cleared 
desmontes, where the ash from burned brush 
strengthens the soil sufficiently to raise one crop. 
Use of frijol—Beans are used exclusively for 
human food. They are boiled in ollas and served 
with salt. Tamales filled with beans are not 
uncommon. The special uses of kokdéd¢ have 
been mentioned above. 
72 Hendrichs (1945-46, vol. 1, pp. 40, 238) reports a bean called “‘comba’”’ 
from the Balsas Basin, but identifies it as P. coccineus. The ‘“‘comba” from 
Acahuato was identified as P. lunatus by Dr. R. W. Allard, College of Agri- 
culture, University of California, Davis, Calif. 
7% In both cases the planter carried two bags (morrales), one containing 
maize seed, the other, beans. 
Squash culture.—The cucurbits complete the 
ancient Mexican crop complex. Three species 
of the genus Cucurbita are today cultivated in 
the Tarascan area: C. pepo (calabaza comin 
puri), C. moschata (calabaza de Castilla, purty), 
and C. ficifolia (silacayote or chilacayote, t‘ik‘a¢a 
or tiké¢).* C. pepo appears to be the ancient 
squash of the area, for it is referred to as calabaza 
comun or calabaza corriente, and in mestizo vil- 
lages nearby as calabaza tarasca. Surprisingly 
few varieties occur, the most common being oblong 
(20 em. long), ribbed (10), green and yellow 
mottled, with the ordinary five-sided peduncle. 
Smooth types are also cultivated. A small pepo, 
called. éekimita, is grown in a few villages of 
the Sierra and La Cafada. In some pueblos the 
common name of C. moschata is calabaza de la 
Castilla, whieh may indicate that this squash 
was introduced into the area after the Spanish 
Conquest; it is found mainly around the edges of 
the Sierra. Some varieties are flat and round, 
similar to the pumpkins of the northeastern part 
of the United States. Others are small, crooked- 
neck types. 
In contrast to its minor place in the agriculture 
of many indigenous groups of Mexico, C. ficifolia is 
an important cultigen among the Tarascans. Two 
varieties are grown, both having the appearance 
of a watermelon: one with black seeds (chilacayote 
comtun, tiké¢), and the other with white seeds 
(chilacayote-calabaza, puritiki¢a). Of the two, the 
latter is said to have the better flavor. 
Like frijol, squash is ordinarily planted with 
maize in both plow and hoe lands. Squash seeds 
are rarely planted in the same hill with maize and 
beans; rather the plantings are widely spaced 
(5 to 6 meters) along the rows or edges of the 
field in order to allow for spreading. Chilacayote 
(and often common squash) is usually planted in 
the fertile house lots or in the desmontes, where 
the soil has been fertilized by wood ash. Within the 
plowlands it is sometimes planted in a quemazon, 
a spot where a log is burned and ashes well mixed 
with underlying soil. Squashes are gathered in 
October or November before the maize harvest. 
Chilacayotes are sun-cured on roofs or on adobe 
fences for 3 or 4 weeks, and are then stored in the 
house loft or in a corner of the dwelling. 
%4 Botanical identification of the squash seed collected in the Tarascan 
area was kindly made by Dr. T. W. Whitaker, of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 
