68 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 7 
late beaters, and malacates, were made in Charapan 
and Cocucho, but this activity has now disap- 
peared. Most of the turned objects are shaped 
from madrofo wood (pandyksa). Carving is 
done by pressing variously shaped steel chisels 
and gouges against the whirling block of wood. 
In Paracho, designs are painted and burned into 
objects, and the surface lacquered or varnished. 
The wheel lathe, an early Spanish introduction, is 
used by most cabinetmakers in the area for 
turning wood. 
Cabinet work.—As mentioned earlier, cabinet 
work was rapidly adopted by Tarascan craftsmen 
in the early colonial period. In the 17th and 18th 
centuries inventories of miners’ and merchants’ 
household goods in west-central and northern 
Mexico rarely fail to mention chairs, tables, boxes 
“de Mechoacan.”’ The majority of present Taras- 
can towns has at least one cabinetmaker who 
partially satisfies local demand for furniture. In 
Paracho, Corupo, and Cuanajo—the Tarascan 
furniture centers—carpenters make chairs, tables, 
bed frames. Cuanajo is famed for its wooden 
chests, which are marketed in all parts of Michoa- 
cin. Most furniture is made from pine wood with 
simple tools (saw, mallet, plane, chisel, gouge). 
As mentioned above, chair and table legs are 
turned on the wheel lathe (fig. 6). The more 
common jointing techniques used include mor- 
fp. 
ES 
Figure 6.—The wheel lathe, used by most Tarascan cabinetmakers for turning wood. 
ticing and tenoning, housing, and dovetailing. 
Some pieces are joined with wooden pegs; metallic 
nails and screws are never employed. 
Musical instruments.—The most sophisticated 
of Tarascan woodwork is the manufacture of 
stringed instruments in Paracho. This pueblo 
has been the guitar towr of Mexico since colonial 
times. In 1940 Paracho claimed 49 guitar makers 
and three individuals who made violins (including 
base viols). The art has spread to neighboring 
Ahufran, where three men made violins in 1946. 
Local woods—¢irimu, qaile, and palo blanco—are 
used for the top and base of the guitars; for sides 
and handles and inlaid designs walnut and cedar 
are imported from Mexico. Some guitarreros 
utilize local pine and fir for the tops of violins and 
base viols. The wood is cut with a small saw 
and planed to desired thinness. The top and 
base are cut from a pattern; the side bands are 
soaked and bent into place, being glued to the top 
and bottom pieces and held in place with braces. 
Strings and metal parts are assembled, and the 
instrument is varnished and waxed, ready for the 
ultimate consumer. Most guitarreros work on a 
contract basis for Mexico City or Guadalajara 
buyers, and many Tarascans have moved their 
trade to the larger towns, mainly Mexico City, 
where their products bring higher prices. 
The age of the Paracho guitar work is not known. 
The wheel ranges from 2% to 4 
feet in diameter and is usually turned by a small boy. 
