CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN TARASCAN AREA—WEST 49 
In spite of unfavorable environment for stock 
raising, many families possess small herds (10- 
25 head) of cattle, which roam the Sierra forests.!” 
During the latter part of the dry season some cattle 
die of starvation, and the springs and wells barely 
afford sufficient water for existing herds. The 
fatter animals are occasionally sold to the local 
butcher or home-killed for meat. Only the more 
wealthy have riding horses, and few except arrieros 
possess mules. When in use oxen and burros are 
often stabled in the house lot. All livestock is 
turned into the fields after harvest to graze on 
stubble and to fertilize the land. The small 
animals, such as sheep and pigs (ganado menor) 
are common throughout present Tarasca.’ In 
almost every village a few families own sheep, 
flocks ranging in size from 50 to 1,000 head. The 
greatest number of flocks are found around the 
higher mountains of the Sierra, such as Tancitaro,!” 
Patamban, and Quinceo, where summer pastures 
(buncherass) are abundant near the summits. In 
winter, flocks are grazed in harvested cornfields, 
for this is a recognized method of soil fertilization. 
Most of the inhabitants of the ranchos around Cerro 
de Patumban are shepherd-farmers, at least half 
of their time being devoted to sheep raising. 
During the summer months boys and girls are 
107 Few data exist concerning the introduction of cattle into the Sierra, 
The original land title of PamatAcuaro, dated June 1532, mentions the pos- 
session of European domestic animals by the Indians of that village. ‘“Tienen 
los naturales como pobladores las preheminencias nesesarias de pueblo, Inglecia, 
campanas sonoras, sementherio: chrias de todas claces de ganados, Bacas de 
vientre, Bueyes, asnos, overas y bestias mulares y caballares . . .’’ Again, from 
the same document: ‘‘. . . los animales y ganados son sanos y de competente 
tamano ...’’ These data were taken from a certified copy (1937) of the 
original document; the latter is reported to be in the jefetura of Pamatdcuaro. 
If the document is correct, European animals were taken into the native 
culture at an extremely early date. The Ponce Relaci6n (1872, vol. 2, p. 133) 
mentions herds belonging to natives pasturing on the slopes of Cerro de 
Tancitaro and watering at the lake on its summit in 1584. Around 1700 the 
people of Cheranétzicurin possessed a sitio de ganado mayor (pasture for large 
animals such as horses and cattle) near the village (AGN Tierras, vol. 867, 
exped. 8). In the northern plateau and tierra caliente regions, where colonial 
cattle estancias were numerous, many Indians quickly became vaqueros, but 
probably few acquired their own herds. 
108 Tarascans quickly adopted the sheep. By 1580 many Indians around 
the shores of Lake Cuitzeo possessed flocks numbering from 300 to 400 head. 
“|. . crian sus carneros con tan buen orden y consierto como en Espana... .’’ 
(Mus. Nac., leg. 102, Rel. de Cuitzeo). A great number of Indians living near 
the northern plateau pastures were forced to tend flocks of Spanish encomen- 
deros. The Lake and Sierra Tarascans also likely acquired sheep at an 
early date. In many parts of Mexico the Indians rapidly took to sheep rais- 
ing soon after the Spaniards introduced the animal early in the 16th century. 
During the colonial period Indians were the chief sheep raisers in New Spain, 
either as hired shepherds or 1s owners of flocks. Possibly the annual or semi- 
annual wool clip and the fact that the smaller animals are more easily herded 
than cattle, prompted the natives to adapt themselves readily to sheep 
raising. 
109 Most of the flocks on Tancftaro and other areas adjacent to Paricutin 
were destroyed by heavy ash fall during the spring and summer of 1943, 
Formerly, some Tarascans in that area owned flocks as large as 5,000 or 6,000 
head. One man in Nurfo is reported to have had 20,000. 
the full-time shepherds, driving herds up the 
mountain slope each morning and down to the 
folds near the house at evening. The elders 
perform the semiannual shearing and often tend 
the flocks in the cornfields during the winter. 
Professional shepherds are sometimes hired by 
sheep owners to care for their flocks. 
The sheep’of the Tarascans are small, scrawny 
animals, descendants of the 16th-century Spanish 
breeds. In a given flock about half the animals 
are black, the rest white (pl. 7). Often a few 
goats graze with the flock. The Indians are 
usually financially unable to improve the breed 
with new blood; in only one case did the writer 
observe a merino ram. The Tarascans raise sheep 
mainly for wool. The rancheros around Cerro de 
Patamban shear their animals with hand clippers 
every 6 months. Some wool is obtained also by 
the girl shepherds, who pluck from the backs 
of sheep while the animals are grazing; as she 
plucks, the girl spins the wool on a whorl spindle, 
completing a ball of yarn as large as the fist at 
the end of day. In many villages local wool is 
used for weaving, many weavers possessing their 
own flocks. Otherwise the wool clip is sold to 
people from other villages or to mestizo wholesale 
buyers. 
The hog was the first European animal domesti- 
cate that the Spaniards brought into the Tarascan 
area in quantity, and was possibly one of the 
first of the new animals adopted into Indian 
culture. As early as 1525 Spaniards were raising 
large droves of hogs in the vicinity of Paétzcuaro in 
order to supply food to placer operations in the 
Balsas (Millares Carlo and Mantecén, 1945, p. 
32).4° Indians were used as swineherds. Through- 
out the colonial period large numbers of hogs were 
fed in the marsh areas north of the Sierra and 
droves were periodically driven to Toluca and 
the valley of Mexico (Paso y Troncoso, 1905, 
vol. 1, p. 180). Today the hog is common in 
every Tarascan village. Practically every house- 
hold owns two or three animals, which serve as 
scavengers, running the streets by day; enough 
maize and scraps are fed the animals to induce 
them to return at night to the proper pen in the 
10 The hog appears to have been the first Old World animal raised on a 
large scale in New Spain. Moreover, hog culture was intimately connected 
with gold placering in Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoac&n (1521-35). Droves 
were driven along with the shifting placer camps, the animals feeding on fallen 
tropical fruits (e. g. the ciruela), roots, and wild tubers in the tierra caliente. 
“Carne de puerco’’ was the chief “energy” food given the Indian labor gangs, 
