CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN TARASCAN AREA—-WEST 5D 
another without permission from the authorities 
of the latter. 
Fish preparation.—Pescado blanco, trucha, and 
aktimaiza are usually taken to market fresh, al- 
though the latter is sometimes fried on the comal 
before being sold. The tiny k‘uerépu and @‘arari, 
however, are invariably sun-dried, the catch being 
spread on a petate, which is placed near the door 
of the dwelling where it can be easily watched 
(pl. 11). Since pre-Conquest days dried é‘arari 
has been one of the main exports of the Tarascan 
lakes. It was distributed into the tierra caliente, 
the Sierra, and as far east as Toluca. 
LUMBERING ACTIVITIES 
The Tarascans, possibly more than any other 
aboriginal group of Mexico, have been exploiters 
of forest products since pre-Columbian times. 
During the Empire period one of the important 
officials of the caltzontzin at Tzintzuntzan was in 
charge of ‘‘the keepers of the forests,’ who cut 
beams and made planks for public, and probably 
private, use.”® Not only were large beams and 
logs used in the construction of temples, but also 
in the building of forts against Aztec raids. 
During the colonial period the pine forests on the 
northern flanks of the Sierra de Ozumatlin were 
heavily exploited by Tarascan woodmen for beams, 
planks, and shakes for the Guanajauto and Zaca- 
tecas mining districts.” 
Much of the timber resource of northern 
Michoacén was depleted by the end of the 18th 
century. Relatively untouched by colonial exploi- 
tation, the pine and fir forests of the Sierra de los 
Tarascos, although constantly diminishing, have 
remained the principal source of timber for the 
indigenous population. There are few contem- 
porary Sierra Tarascan men who cannot handle 
an ax or lumber saw. When the maize fields do 
not demand their attention, the family head and 
his sons are usually in the forest cutting timber 
or gathering resin. The Sierra Indian is conse- 
quently both a farmer and a lumberjack. Some 
are professional woodsmen, who live in the village 
but seldom engage in agriculture. Little lumber- 
jim Relacion de Michoacan: p.17: “. . . diputado sobre los que guardaban los 
montes que tenian cargo de cortar vigas y hacer tablas y otra madera de los mon- 
ee This exploitation began immediately after the Guanajuato mines were 
opened ca. 1554, and extended into the post-colonial period. After the ex- 
haustion of the local wood supply, Zacatecas began to draw on the northern 
Michoacan lumber reserves during the first part of the 17th century (Basa- 
lenque, 1886, vol. 1, p. 315). 
ing is carried on outside the Sierra. Some beams 
and planks are cut by the people of Zipiajo and 
Teremendo, who have large tracts of forest on 
the slopes of El Zirate, and some farmers of the 
Lake area and La Cafiada cut small amounts of 
lumber for home use. 
Beals’ discussion (1946, pp. 15-19) of legal 
cutting rights, lumber products, and lumber 
tools for Cherin can be applied to most of the 
present Sierra pueblos; therefore, only a summary 
will be given here. As mentioned above, all 
Sierra pueblos possess varying amounts of forest 
land held as common property. Since the late 
1930’s the Federal Government has attempted 
to control exploitation by placing all large forest 
areas under national domain, by encouraging the 
organization of local lumbering cooperatives, and 
by periodically inspecting lumbering activities. 
In most pueblos the Federal tax on lumber prod- 
ucts is passed on to the individual woodsmen, 
who pay the town council a given amount for 
cutting rights. In other towns lumber coopera- 
tives have been formed to pay the tax, each 
member contributing dues and having sole cutting 
rights in the village forest lands. 
Although much lumber is for local use (house 
construction, fences, acqueducts, watering troughs, 
shakes, etc.), most is cut for the outside market. 
Raw logs, beams (vigas), planks (vigetas, tablas), 
and railroad ties of pine and fir are cut and pre- 
pared for lumber contractors, whose heavy trucks 
visit the larger villages during the dry season to 
haul the products to the nearest railhead. Wood- 
cutters of the remote pueblos drag beams and 
planks to market with the aid of burros and mules. 
Los Reyes, Tingiindin, Tangamandapio, and 
Zamora handle the forest products from the 
western part of the Sierra, while Uruapan, Zacapu, 
Ajuno Station, and Pitzcuaro serve as lumber 
points for the eastern section. Formerly a signifi- 
cant forest industry, shake making (performed 
by skilled specialists) is slowly declining because 
of the increasing use of tile roofing.’* Turpentine 
is no longer distilled locally. (See Beals, 1946, 
p. 18, for illustration of Tarascan still.) Rather, 
the resin (resina) is gathered in 5-gallon tins and 
taken to the village, where they are periodically 
138 Although in some pueblos (Pamat&cuaro and ranchos, Angahuan, 
Capacuaro) shakes are still made for export to Uruapan, most are used locally. 
During colonial times and even in the last century large quantities of shakes 
were shipped from the Sierra to the northern mines, where they were the 
principal roofing material. 
