52 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 7 
Ficure 5.—The fish spear (above) aad fisga (below). 
(1946, p. 19) mentions the use of pit traps and 
snares in Cheran. 
FISHING 
A large part of pre-Conquest Tarasca was 
inhabited by fishers, most of whom were part-time 
farmers.’ There were two important fishing 
areas: (1) the northern plateau region, dotted with 
lakes and marshes, and (2) the central lakes, 
Patzcuaro and Zirahuén. Fishing was also prac- 
ticed in the shallow lagoons in the Cotija graben 
west of the Sierra and in the Tepalcatepec and 
Balsas Rivers in the tierra caliente. In the above- 
named areas fishing continued unchanged through- 
out most of the colonial period, but during the last 
150 years it has declined mainly in the northern 
and western sections, owing to desiccation and 
draining of marshes."° In Lake Patzcuaro, fish- 
ing has been declining since the mid-18th century. 
By 1789 all the inhabitants of the south-shore 
pueblos had ceased to fish (AGN Historia, vol. 73, 
ff. 292-302v), and today Lake PA&tzcuaro fishers 
are limited mainly to the islands and a few small 
ranchos on the Tasiu-k‘éri Peninsula. Only ves- 
8 The Nahuatl] name for the Tarascan area (particularly the section 
around the central lakes) was Mechuac4n, meaning the land of the fishers. 
19 The desiccated areas where fishing was once significant included the 
basins of Zacapu, the Tarfmbaro lowland north of Morelia, the Tanganci- 
cuaro Basin, the lowlands southeast of Lake Chapala, and the chain of lakes 
(Guadalupe, San Juanico, Magdalena, Tacatzcuaro) in the Cotija graben. 
Some fishing is still practiced by mestizos in Lakes Yuriria and Cuitzeo, 
although the waters of both are constantly receding, and the latter occasion- 
ally dries up completely. The western portion of Lake Chapala, formerly 
Tarascan territory, is still fished. There are some nine mestizo fishermen at 
Zirahuén, and carpa are still caught in the trerra caliente streams. This fish 
is dried and carried to the Sierra towns for consumption on fast days. 
Approximately % natural size. 
PI ars 
tiges remain in some of the mainland towns, where 
a few farmers fish part-time along the shore to 
supply local demand (map 19). 
The fish resource.—The native fishes of Lake 
P&tzcuaro are common to most lakes and streams 
of the western part of the Mesa Central. Most 
of the commercially important species belong to 
the genus Chirostoma (Atherinidae), which vary 
in length from 2 to 12 inches. C. estor is the famed 
pescado blanco (kuriéa uraépiti) of P&tzcuaro; C. 
bartoni, the charal or é‘arari, is a tiny species that 
is sun-dried and sold over a wide area; C. grando- 
cule is called k‘uerépu, although this term is usually 
applied to the young of other species. Other 
genera include small fish, notably akimasa, or 
sardina (Algansea lacustris), ¢éua (Allophorus 
robustus), and t‘fru, which includes at least four 
genera of the Goodeidae family (Goodea luitpoldii, 
Neoophorus diazi diazi, Allotoca vivipara, Skiffia 
lermae). Around 1930 a black bass (Micropterus 
(Huro) salmoides), called trucha or carpa, native 
to eastern North American streams, was intro- 
duced into Lake Pitzcuaro presumably to in- 
crease a failing fish reserve. The trucha, however, 
upset an established biotic equilibrium by feeding 
on the small littoral fish, almost exterminating 
the t‘fru and diminishing the stock of ¢éua and 
é‘ardri. In addition to fish, freshwater shrimp 
(Sapitu) and frogs (kuandisa, Rana pipens) inhabit 
the lake and are often caught and eaten.’ 
20 A large literature exists on the fish resources of Lake Patzcuaro. The 
more important works are Ancona et al. (1940), Osorio Tafall (1944), and 
De Buen (1943, 1944). 
