48 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



mud. Following the rains of 1947, the skeletons 

 of four such ill-fated beasts were strewn along 

 the trails. 



As the aguaceros taper off, they are replaced by 

 a light but persistent drizzle, known as the chipi- 

 chipi, which may continue virtually without a 

 break through the fall, into spring. Literally, 

 no month of the local calendar consistently is free 

 of precipitation, and about the only time a mod- 

 erate occurrence of clear, sunny weather is ex- 

 pectable is from February through April. Yet 

 Bishop Mota y Escobar (p. 234), who visited 

 Papantla early in February of 1610, writes plain- 

 tively, "It rained on me in this town eight days 

 without stopping." Papantla has the dubious dis- 

 tinction of having an annual average of fewer 

 than 60 clear days and of more than 150 overcast 

 days (Mexico, Atlas climatologico) . 



During the spring months there may be a brief 

 drought, which assumes catastropic proportions 

 if it continues through May. The humus topsoil 

 is thin — in many places, not more than 50 cm. in 

 depth. It overlies a limestone formation which 

 presumably is highly absorbent, so that with a few 

 weeks of sunny weather, the surface moisture is 

 evaporated. Accordingly, the ground cracks 

 open ; the springs and small arroyos dry ; and the 

 fields are parched. For want of water, the vanilla 

 blossom may not open, and the chief cash crop 

 thereby is lost ; the maize wilts, and the staple food 

 fails. The last excessive drought took place in the 

 spring of 1945, but in May of 1948, the fields 



were so dry that two — one of cane and another of 

 pasture — caught fire. The supply of potable water 

 will be treated in greater detail elsewhere (pp. 

 70-72). 



During most of the year, the humidity is high 

 (Mexico, Atlas climatologico). Because of this, 

 the heat f rem May through August may be oppres- 

 sive (table 3). However, in December and Janu- 

 ary, the temperature sometimes averages less than 

 18° C. Combined with the humidity, the result 

 is uncomfortably moist and chill. During the sea- 

 son of 1947, our clothing sprouted mold ; our type- 

 writers and cameras were speckled with rust; and 

 our stationery supplies were so limp they hardly 

 could be handled. 



In summary, we hold no brief for the local 

 climate. 



Prevailing winds are from the north and ac- 

 cordingly are known as nortes. These Gulf coast 

 winds are famous throughout Mexico and are men- 

 tioned at length in many of the old accounts, 

 largely because of the hazards to navigation. In 

 the fall, the nortes arrive, lashing the countryside 

 and bringing cold rains. Informants distinguish 

 between wet and dry winds. Those of the spring 

 are dry, and in March and April, heavy winds may 

 do considerable damage to maize fields. 



Scenically, the country is very beautiful (pis. 

 1, 2). The rough hills are covered with heavy 

 tropical rain forest, green and lush throughout 

 the year. Of virgin stands (monte alto), 85 with 



85 In Totonac, kiwi is tree ; kakiwin, monte or forest. There 

 seem to be no special terms for monte alto and monte bajo. 



Table 3. — Annual temperature, Papantla 



Year 



Jan. 



Feb. 



Mar. 



Apr. 



May 



June 



July 



Aug. 



Sep. 



Oct. 



Nov. 



Dec. 



1925... 



















26.4 

 26.7 

 25.9 

 25.5 

 25.5 

 28.9 



25.9 

 25.7 

 24.3 

 24.7 

 24.2 

 25.0 



20.6 

 21.2 

 22.9 

 21.0 

 19.8 

 20.2 



15.8 



1926. 



15.9 

 19.7 

 17.4 

 18.9 

 16.1 



20.7 

 22.5 



18.9 

 19.7 



22.4 

 22.3 

 22.7 

 22.6 

 21.3 



24.2 

 26.3 

 23.6 

 27.0 

 25.5 



26.8 

 28.9 

 25.8 

 26.8 

 28.5 



27.9 

 28.4 

 27.9 

 26.7 

 27.9 



27.2 

 27.2 

 26.4 

 26.1 

 27.4 



27.7 

 27.6 

 26.9 

 26.1 

 28.5 



21 1 



1927 



18 1 



1928 



16 1 



1929 



16.9 



1930.. 



16 6 







Average 



17.6 



20.4 



22.3 



25.3 



26.9 



27.8 



26.9 



27.4 



26.5 



24.9 



20.9 



17 4 







1931 



16.7 

 20.0 

 19.5 

 19.8 

 22.2 

 19.4 

 21.6 

 18.9 

 19.7 

 15.6 



19.3 

 22.3 

 20.1 

 21.2 

 20.0 

 20.0 

 21.9 

 20.7 

 20.1 

 18.7 



19.9 

 20.9 

 23.3 

 21.0 

 25.0 

 23.8 

 21.3 

 20.2 

 22.1 

 21.0 



21.8 

 25. 7 

 27! 

 25.4 

 28.0 

 24.4 

 25.8 

 25.5 

 24.3 

 24.0 



25.5 

 27.3 

 29.7 

 26.9 

 28.8 

 26.3 

 26.8 

 27.5 

 26.8 

 25.6 



27.2 

 29.5 

 27.6 

 2S.8 

 27.6 

 27.9 

 27.5 

 27.0 

 26.8 

 27. 2 



27.3 

 27.6 

 29.0 

 28.3 

 27.2 

 26.4 

 26.9 

 27.8 

 27.0 

 26.4 



26.4 

 28.0 

 26.5 

 28.2 

 27.4 

 27.0 

 27.5 

 27.9 

 26.9 

 27.9 



26.2 

 27.3 

 26.1 

 27.4 

 26.6 

 26.9 

 27.0 

 25.9 

 25.3 

 26.5 



25.1 

 23.3 

 24.7 

 26.6 

 25.0 

 24.2 

 24.8 

 24.3 

 23.6 

 24.4 



22.5 

 19.3 

 22.0 

 24.1 

 23.5 

 19.6 

 22.1 

 19.7 

 18.8 

 21. 1 



18 9 



1932 _ 



19 4 



1933. 



20 4 



1934 



19 5 



1935 



19 3 



1936 



19 5 



1937 



19 2 



1938 



19 



1939. _ 



19 6 



1940 



19 6 







Average 



19.3 



20.4 



22.4 



25.2 



27 1 



27.7 



27.4 



27.4 



26.5 



24.6 



21.3 



19 4 







1941 _ 



18. 5 



17.5 



19.1 

 19. 6 



20.4 

 21.0 



25.0 



26.3 



27.5 



28.2 



27.4 



26.4 



25.6 



21.3 



19.7 



1942 























1 The record is in centigrade. 

 Mexieano. 



These figures have been made available through the courtesy of the Tacabaya office of the Servicio Meteorologies 



