CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN TARASCAN AREA—WEST 65 
cord; these and the woven articles are marketed 
in Guanajuato, Jalisco, the tierra caliente, and in 
all parts of the present Tarascan area. 
Woolen products are woven mainly on the 
European loom, which was introduced early in 
the 16th century." During most of the colonial 
period this loom was used principally in the 
obrajes, or cloth mills established by Spaniards in 
various parts of Mexico near an abundant supply 
of wool. Indians first learned European weaving 
techniques in these mills, the labor for which 
came from surrounding native pueblos. By 1540 
an obraje, operated by 26 forced native workers, 
had been set up in Acdmbaro (Paso y Troncoso, 
1905, vol. 1, p. 33), and before the close of the 
century woolen mills existed in Taximaroa and 
Valladolid (Zavala and Castello, 1939-46, vol. 6, 
p. 225). Moreover, Indians quickly learned to 
spin wool, for tributes of spun wool were exacted 
from some pueblos, possibly to supply obrajes 
nearby.” It is not clear when the Tarascans 
began to use the hand loom in their own villages; 
possibly some looms were set up in the northern 
towns in the 16th century.'® A report of 1789 
(AGN Historia, vol. 73) on the Tarascan pueblos 
of Lake Patzcuaro and the Sierra, however, men- 
tions the use only of the native loom. The first 
indication of a native wool industry in the Taras- 
can area comes from the Martinez de Lejarza 
report of 1822, which cites the obrajeros of San 
Juan Parangaricutiro (later the most renowned 
of the Tarascan blanket-weaving towns) and of 
several northern mestizo towns.'* Tarascan wool 
weaving on a commercial scale may be post- 
colonial, having little economic basis until the 
break-down of the large woolen mills at the close 
of the colonial period. Today woolen blankets 
(cobijas, serapes) are made on the European hand 
loom in 24 Tarascan towns, Nahuatzen and pre- 
volcano Parangaricutiro being the largest pro- 
141 Strands of wool are sometimes mixed with cotton in making women’s 
belts. Often the warp is of woolen strands, the woof of cotton thread. 
142 For example, ea. 1540 the people of Purudndiro (Michoacin) contributed 
each week two arrobas of spun wool (Paso y Troncoso, 1905, vol. 1, p. 117). 
43 The Relacion de Chilchota (Mus. Nac.) states that some natives in 
the town made clothes of wool, but the type of loom used is not given. More- 
over, according to the Relacion de Cuitzeo (Mus. Nac.), the Indians living 
around the lake “‘. . . benden lana a los conmarcanos para hacer ropa para 
vestirse, y sus mugeres la benefician...’’ Again, the type of loom used to 
weave wool is not given. 
“4The northern towns mentioned: Morelia, Zinapécuaro, Zitécuaro, 
Taximaroa, Jiquilpan, Huarachita, La Piedad, Huaniqueo, and Tanga- 
mandapio. At that time the latter pueblo was wholly Tarascan; according 
to Martinez de Lejarza (1824, p. 227), “‘. . . sus habitantes trabajan telares de 
algodén y lana.’” 
ducers. In many towns only three of four 
obrajeros operate full time and produce mainly 
for local consumption. Raw wool is purchased 
locally, is washed, carded, dried, and spun by the 
obrajero. In addition to manufacturing blankets, 
some weavers in Nahuatzen, Charapan, and 
Tanaco make woolen cloth for the traditional 
black skirt, which is still worn by most Tarascan 
women. Such skirts, however, are being made 
increasingly from factory-woven woolens pur- 
chased in mestizo towns. 
Embroidery and sewing.—In the Sierra villages 
of San Lorenzo, Tarecuato, Angahuan, Ahuiran, 
Cuanajo, Nahuatzen, and Charapan some women 
specialize in cross-stitching and embroidering 
designs on blouses (huzpiles), napkins, and table- 
cloths. Many of these articles are for tourist 
trade in Uruapan, Zamora, and Patzcuaro. 
During the colonial period and the first half of the 
19th century, the men and women of Ahuiran 
and Pomacuarda knitted men’s stockings of cotton 
thread, using otate needles (AGN Historia, vol. 73, 
f. 344; Martinez de Lejarza, 1824, pp. 179-180). 
Ahuiran stockings were sold to mestizos and 
Spaniards over a wide area, but this trade declined 
after the change in styles of men’s clothing in 
the early 1800’s. 
Hat making.—Among the Tarascans this indus- 
try was introduced probably in early colonial 
days.“ However, the first mention of the in- 
dustry comes from the report of 1789, which cites 
it in Nurio (AGN Historia, vol. 73, f. 348). 
There, hats were made of wool, likely by a felting 
process, but the industry had disappeared by the 
end of the last century. None of the colonial 
sources mentions the manufacture of straw hats 
in Tarascan towns. Old men from Pichataro 
remember hat making during their childhood, 
which fact at least dates the industry in the last 
half of the 19th century. (Palm-leaf hats were 
made in Morelia at the end of the colonial period, 
according to Martinez de Lejarza, 1824, p. 29.) 
Today hats (principally of palm leaf, some of 
wheat straw) are made in seven Tarascan towns, 
Jaracuaro Island being the main center.’ Palm 
leaf brought up from the tierra caliente is cut in 
thin sections, which are braided into strips, called 
48 According to tradition, hat making was one of the many industries 
which Don Vasco de Quiroga taught the natives. (Leon, 1904, p. 63.) 
448 At least one member (and often three or four) ofevery family on Jaracuaro 
Island makes hats. Having little tillable land, this pueblo is one of the most 
specialized home-industry towns in the Tarascan area. 
