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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



becomes polio. The eggs are commonly brought 

 into the grocery stores (one or two or three at a 

 time) and exchanged for so many centavos worth 

 of lard, sugar, coffee, salt or whatever else may be 

 needed at the moment. Although the local 

 chicken (gallina corriente) is presumably derived 

 from the so-called Spanish or Mediterranean 

 breeds of Oallus domesticus (Andalusians, Minor- 

 cas, Leghorns, etc.), there is evident a consider- 

 able admixture of Indian Game, Ehode Island 

 Red, Plymouth Rock, and possibly Wyandotte 

 and Orpington blood. There is scarcely any 

 creature more pitiful or more ridiculous than a 

 poor half-plucked, hce-ridden, scabby chicken, 

 which in its body and plumage unsuccessfully 

 tries to combine three or four of the above strains. 

 In the tm'key (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) 

 we have an animal which may well have been 

 domesticated in the Tai'ascan region. Some 

 biologists (such as Nelson) believe that the 

 Tarascan highlands are as logical a site for this 

 domestication as any. Wild turkeys were present 

 in the area until recently, but now the nearest 

 wild flocks are some 50 mUes to the southwest. 

 The turkey, which is known locally as guajolote 

 (from huexolotl the Mexicano name for the turkey 

 cock), cileuno or cocono, pipilo (Mexicano, from 

 pilpiltotol "bird of the rich"), and curucu or 

 coruco (Tarascan), has lost much of its pre- 

 Spanish importance and there are only 193 turkey 

 hens and gobblers in 68 households, chiefly in the 

 ranches. The largest number in any flock was 

 13. Few turkeys are kept in town because they 

 are apt to sicken and die unless they have plenty 

 of space. Dark-colored or black turkeys pre- 

 dominate, followed in numbers by white tm-keys, 

 white and black turkeys, and a few brown turkeys. 

 In early Tarascan times the white turkey cock was 

 venerated (under the name tarechu, which is now 

 applied to the rooster) as a representation of the 

 god Curicaueri. Accordmg to the Relacidn de 

 Michoacan the Tarascans did not eat turkeys (at 

 least they did not eat the turkey hens) which were 

 fed to the animals in the royal or priestly "zoo" 

 and were sacrificed to the gods. The feathers 

 were used also as offerings and for ornamentation 

 of the representations of deity. A number of 

 terra-cotta representations of turkeys have been 

 recovered from ruins in Michoacan, Cohma, and 

 Nayarit. Despite the important ceremonial posi- 

 tion of the turkey, it is difficult for us to believe 



that turkeys were not eaten by the ancient Taras- 

 cans, especially in view of the fact that many of 

 the neighboring peoples ate the bird. More than 

 enough birds for sacrifice and for plumage must 

 have been raised, since there are several mentions 

 of pueblos paying a tribute of "domesticated 

 turkeys" to the Tarascan ruler. It is possible 

 that only the priests ate turkeys, smce they were 

 allowed to embellish themselves with turkey 

 feathers. However, if the tiu-key were an avatar 

 of a god, and something of a totemic representa- 

 tion, it is possible that the Tarascans would not 

 eat the bird, while those peoples who had not 

 domesticated the bird and for whom it had little 

 or no religious significance would have no such 

 scruples. At any rate, the turkey is now a highly 

 prized item of food. 



BEES 



Beekeeping (Melipona spp.) for honey and wax 

 was quite important among the ancient Tarascans, 

 and it is stiU of importance, but apparently only 

 Old World bees (Apis mellifera) are kept in hives. 

 There are 451 beehives (colmenas or cajones de 

 abejas), which belong to 70 households. Most of 

 these (310) are kept in the ranchos as one would 

 expect from the better pastures available in those 

 areas. The distribution ranged from only 1 and 

 2 hives up to 14, 15, 16, 17, and 30 in a solar. 

 The honey and wax commonly are taken in the 

 fall. The honey is consumed by the family and 

 sold to merchants in Quiroga and the beeswax is 

 sold to the candlemakers in town. As is true of 

 all Cathohc communities in Mexico, there is an 

 enormous consumption of candles in churches 

 and in the homes (before household shrines and 

 for illumination). The beehives are home-made 

 wooden boxes commonly with a covering or roof 

 of tiles. Due to the variety of flowering plants 

 the honey varies considerably in flavor, although 

 a flavor possibly derived from salvias predomi- 

 nates. Occasionally poisonous honeys are de- 

 veloped, probably from the nectar of a number 

 of poisonous solanums, spurges, and asclepiases. 



PETS AND OTHER HOUSE ANIMALS 



Dogs outrank cats considerably in numbers 

 (569 dogs to 401 cats) and slightly in popularity 

 (369 households have dogs and 301 possess cats). 

 Dogs are more useful, since they will guard 

 houses, run down game, and can be used to help 



