THE TAJ IN TOTONAC — PART 1 — KELLY AND PALERM 



71 



system of pipes, and the expense would not be 

 warranted — again, because of the disperse settle- 

 ment pattern. Although the few families of the 

 /undo might be supplied, those on outlying parcels 

 still would be without water in times of shortage. 4 

 Unfortunately, it would appear that there is no 

 easy and economical solution. 



In any case, although water shortage is trouble- 

 some, most of the Totonac are apathetic. The 

 women haul the water, and it is they who are most 

 inconvenienced when springs and arroyos dry ; the 

 men regard the problem with admirable detach- 

 ment, except when their cultivated fields are threat- 

 ened. Yet any real solution would require whole- 

 hearted backing of the male population. 



Even if water storage were solved on a sufficient 

 scale to assure a year-round supply for each house- 

 hold, there is little chance that the custom of 

 hauling water from the spring or arroyo would 

 be abandoned, simply because of its social function. 

 The daily chore of the women and girls of every 

 family is to carry water ; young boys assist occa- 

 sionally, but adult men, only under very special 

 circumstances. 5 However, boys and men loiter 

 along the trail, or in the shrubbery near the arroyo, 

 and the arrival of the girls gives the young people 

 of both sexes one of their few opportunities to con- 

 verse. Marriages and illicit unions result fre- 



4 The possibility of catching the run-off from the roofs also was 

 discussed with Mr. Greeley, but here, again, there are major dif- 

 ficulties. (1) We are by no means sure that the precipitation 

 in the months immediately preceding the shortage is sufficient, 

 since it falls in the form of light, continuous drizzles. (2) The 

 number of tiled roofs is limited, and run-off from a thatched roof 

 probably would be far from clear. (3) Although gutters could 

 be constructed easily, through a series of split, overlapping, 

 bamboos, hung from the eaves, storage facilities are more dif- 

 ficult of solution. (4) Since the subsoil is calcareous, a cistern 

 presumably would have to be lined with stone or brick. But 

 stone is extremely scarce, and brick would have to be hauled from 

 El Chote, near Papantla. Moreover, no Totonac knows how to 

 lay brick, and a mason from Papantla would have to be imported. 

 (5) Unless cisterns were well covered, the breeding of mosquitoes 

 would aggravate an already existing occurrence of malaria. (6) 

 The Totonac almost certainly would have an aversion to cistern 

 water, since they are convinced that rainwater breeds "worms" 

 (sabanones) if allowed to stand more than a few days. (7) 

 The use of a series of large earthenware jars for water storage 

 was suggested to Mr. Greeley, but his calculations showed, at 

 once, that an adequate supply could not be provided through such 

 small-scale storage. 



6 Bernabe' Xochigua hauls water frequently, because his wife is 

 ailing ; he receives general approbation as a considerate husband. 

 However, one of our friends, well along in years, lives with a 

 much younger woman, of whom he is extremely jealous. Because 

 he suspected she was chatting with men along the trail, he for- 

 bade her to leave the house. Following this gesture, he had no 

 choice but to haul water himself, to the vast amusement of the 

 neighbors. He endured quiet ridicule for a few days, after which 

 the woman resumed her usual trips to the arroyo. 



quently from these encounters. A mother keeps 

 a weather eye on her daughters, and twice during 

 our stay, an alert mother and aunt zealously pro- 

 tected their young charges by throwing stones at 

 the boys who were making advances. 



Hauling water is almost a rite, and probably 

 every woman has a well-established pattern. 



Ana M£ndez selects a jar of small aperture and, as a 

 cover, a receptacle formed of the half shell of the tree 

 calabash. She also selects a cloth or towel to place on 

 the head, beneath the jar, on the return trip. After 

 washing the utensils well, she grasps the olla with the 

 right hand, holding the base against her waist, with the 

 mouth forward, and covered by the calabash. The towel 

 likewise is carried in the right hand, leaving the left free. 

 Upon reaching the arroyo, she arranges three stones in 

 the shape of a triangle to support the jar. Next, she washes 

 her hands and feet in the stream ; then, using the gourd 

 as a dipper, she fills the jar from the little cavity in the 

 bank of the arroyo. She arranges the cloth on her head ; 

 sets the olla atop ; and heads for home. 



In the part of the fundo where we lived, drinking 

 water invariably is collected from a shallow cavity 

 dug in the arroyo bank ; but water for laundry and 

 general household use comes from the open arroyo, 

 some distance upstream. Every kitchen has sev- 

 eral covered jars in which potable water is stored; 

 ordinarily, these sit on a narrow shelf, supported 

 by four uprights. Drinking water is not boiled 

 and receives no special treatment. Water for gen- 

 eral use is stored in stationary jars outside the 

 house, adjacent to the spot where the laundry is 

 done. Usually the jars are set on low stones, not 

 directly on the ground. They may be covered to 

 keep out dust and rubbish, and frequently they are 

 surrounded by a little fence of upright sticks or 

 canes, to protect them from livestock (pi. 13, b). 



The water in Taj in is extremely hard, and if 

 allowed to sit, a large quantity of white sediment 

 settles in the bottom of the vessel. Moreover, the 

 water effectively resists lathering. To overcome 

 this defect, the housewife tosses several handfuls 

 of clean wood ash into the water to be used for 

 laundry. This results in a sort of lye-water (agioa 

 de lejia) in which the soap lathers sufficiently to 

 wash clothing. Lye-water also is used by some for 

 washing the hair. 



In time, the ash loses its potency. It then is 

 removed and thrown against the exterior of the 

 vessel, while the latter is filled with clean water 

 and fresh ash. Many ollas are buried their full 

 height in this discarded ash paste (pi. 13, b, ash 



