64 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 7 
ajara, Morelia, the tierra caliente of Guerrero, and 
Mexico City. 
Another type of ceramic industry is represented 
by the clay toy figurines made by the women of 
Ocumicho in their spare time. The hollow figures 
are formed with molds in shapes of diminutive 
horses, sheep, oxen, and men, each with an open- 
ing which serves as a whistle. After firmg, they 
are painted and varnished. Owing to complete 
lack of water near the town in the dry season, this 
activity is carried on only during the rains. 
Ocumicho figurines are seen in markets in many 
parts of western Mexico and the tierra caliente of 
Guerrero and Michoacan. 
Red clay tiles, which are slowly replacing 
shakes in the Tarascan area, are made in some 
pueblos within the clay belt on the margins of the 
Sierra. Tanaco is the sole town within the Sierra 
proper to make this product. In Nahuatzen the 
technique of making flat concrete tiles was intro- 
duced in 1944. Such tiles are replacing the less 
durable clay ones in some mestizo towns. 
TEXTILES 
In 35 modern Tarascan villages spinning and 
weaving of cotton, wool, or agave fiber are 
carried on as cottage industries. Both indigenous 
and European techniques are employed, neither 
having changed since the 16th century. Since the 
beginning of the present century, however, factory- 
made textiles from large Mexican towns have 
begun to displace some home-woven articles, but 
indigenous conservatism still supports the native 
handicraft. 
Spinning.—Formerly Tarascan weavers spun 
raw cotton from the tierra caliente, but at present 
commercial cotton thread, purchased in mestizo 
markets, is prepared for weaving by twisting five 
to six strands on the spinning wheel. Today only 
raw wool and agave fiber are homespun, the latter 
with the native malacate (uipinu), or hand 
spindle with round clay wheel, the former with the 
16th century spinning wheel (lorno). (See Beals, 
1946, p. 36, for illustration of spinning wheel.) 
Both cotton thread and spun wool are usually 
colored locally with aniline dyes purchased in 
mestizo markets. . 
Weaving.—Tarascans weave all agave and 
cotton fabrics on the native belt loom (patakua 
(Paracho); jopdsatakua (Charapan, Tarecuato)), 
a horizontal loom which has a backstrap and is 
found in most parts of indigenous America south 
of the United States (pl. 11). Customarily, only 
women operate this loom; however, in Tarecuato 
agave fiber is woven with it by both men and 
women, and in Tanaco, exclusively by men. 
Until the 1880’s the most important fabric made 
with the belt loom was the cotton manta, a simple 
white cloth used for native clothing since pre- 
Conquest days. The cheap factory-made cottons 
of Puebla and Veracruz have completely displaced 
the indigenous manta, so that today Tarascans 
weave women’s and men’s belts (fajas), shawls 
(rebozos), aprons (delanteras), tablecloths and 
napkins (servilletas). Widths of cloth ranging 
from 1% inches (women’s belts) to more than a 
yard (rebozos) can be woven on these looms. 
Designs are usually woven into the above-named 
articles, the warp threads being first arranged for 
large widths on a long stick (Sekudérakua) and for 
the narrow fajas on the Sekudni, an arrangement 
of four to five small sticks placed in the ground. 
Some of the finest examples of cotton weaving are 
found in the Sierra pueblos: Paracho (whose 
women make the Tarascan ‘‘rebozo corriente’’), 
Ahufran (women’s belts), Angahuan (women’s 
belts, aprons, rebozos), Charapan (belts, aprons, 
tablecloths), San Lorenzo (tablecloths, belts). 
In the early colonial period the weaving of agave 
fiber was apparently widespread in the Sierra 
(AGN Congregaciones, f. 14), but today it is limited 
to Tarecuato and Tanaco. In these villages the 
main agave fiber products are morrales (square 
bag with shoulder straps), ayates (coarse piece for 
wrapping articles to be carried on back), and 
costales (coarsely woven sacks for carrying goods 
on mules and burros). The fiber of maguey bruto 
(akaémba t'aaimiti) is used for the finely woven 
morrales, while that of maguey del toro (torakaémba) 
is employed for the coarser ayates and costales. 
Leaves of the agave plant are cut and the fiber 
extracted and carded. After drying, it is spun by 
(1) rolling fibers on the thigh with the band, or 
(2) with the malacate. The fibers are woven on 
the belt loom in the same fashion as cotton’ 
(pl. 11). A piece of the agave fabric is doubled 
over and sewn on the sides to make the morral, 
and a shoulder cord is added. Other agave fiber 
products made in Tarecuato include rope and 
139 Agave fiber products were manufactured in Pichdtaro during the last 
century (AAM, siglo XIX, leg. 707). 
40 The loom for weaving agave fiber is called u4natakua in Tarecuato. 
