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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



a special procedure is described. This animal is 

 credited with a "very powerful stare" ; when con- 

 fronted by a lone hunter, it regards him with such 

 intensity that he is unable to shoot. He may pull 

 the trigger three times, but the arm refuses to fire. 

 The remedy is dual : three hunters face the animal, 

 evidently to dissipate the potency of its gaze, and 



Figure 3. — Bird Traps. Two variants are shown. 



t 



Upper: a, A long pliable twig; its butt Is planted in the ground; its tip is ben 

 so that it nearly touches the earth, b, A shorter twig, arched, and both 

 ends set firmly in the ground, c, A cord. One end is looped over the 

 tip of a. A short stick (d) passes through the loop, on the far side of 6, 

 but does not touch the ground, e, The trigger, which is supported by 

 contact against d and /; the latter, a short post set upright in the ground. 

 Grains of corn, or other bait, are placed beneath the trigger and are more 

 or less enclosed by the noose end of c, which is laid on top of the trigger. 

 When the bait is disturbed, e falls, and with it, d; twig a is released and 

 springs upright, and, ideally, the bird is caught in the noose of c. 



Middle: Basically the same, but a and e are alined instead of beiug nearly 

 at right angles. 



Bottom: View from above, of the trap shown in the middle sketch. 



the shotgun is "cured." First, it is fired at a nest 

 of papanes or of chachalacas,* then is loaded with 

 precisely seven shots. Following these elaborate 

 preliminaries, the marten is dispatched. We are 

 uncertain why this particular animal warrants so 

 much fuss. 



• Some of the local birds are listed in Appendix D ; the papan 

 Is No. 25 ; the chachalaca, No. 4. In the succeeding paragraph 

 numbers in parentheses following the name of a bird apply to 

 this Appendix. 



Birds are not hunted systematically or on very 

 large scale. Some are not hunted at all ; some are 

 sought only because they are birds of prey or be- 

 cause they destroy the crops ; others, because they 

 are believed to have medical or magical proper- 

 ties ; 10 and still others, because they are desired 

 as pets. However, some birds — such as the chacha- 

 laca, paloma, perdiz, torcaza, and tortolita (Nos. 4, 

 24, 26, 36, 38) — are hunted primarily for food 

 (table 21, Appendix D). 



The arm in general use is an ancient type of 

 muzzle loading fowling piece (carabina) (pp. 247- 

 248). For birds, small boys use a sling, which 

 consists of a Y-shaped stick, the arms of which are 

 connected by a narrow strip of rubber. Adults 

 rely either on the carabina or a trap. 



A simple, basic trap (fig. 3) is used for birds in 

 general, especially doves (paloraas) , and for other 

 small game, such as rabbits or prairie dogs. Not 

 everj'one knows how to set such a contrivance. A 

 boxlike trap (fig. 4) is used by Conrado Garcia for 

 catching doves. This type is not general in Taj in 

 and perhaps represents the influence of the lad's 

 stepfather, a Sierra Totonac from San Andres 

 Tlayehualancingo. 



A model of the deadfall (fig. 5) used in former 

 times by Miguel Andres, of the Comalteca zone 

 (p. 74), was made for us by Pedro Perez. It is 

 designed chiefly for doves, but a more substantial 

 version may be used for armadillos. 



Snakes, poisonous and otherwise, are abundant. 

 When one goes out at night, he may light a ciga- 

 rette, in jest, "to frighten the serpents," but there 

 is no indication that tobacco is used in capturing 

 snakes, as Sahagiin (3: 207) has described for 

 Totonacapan. If one meets a snake on the trail, 

 he cuts a pole with his ever-handy machete and 

 beats the animal to death. Some kill a snake with 

 the machete, using the blunt rather than the sharp 

 edge of the blade. The latter "might lop off the 

 head, which would bite if it hit one." Modesto 

 Gonzalez would not consider killing a snake with 

 the cutting edge of his machete: "The serpent is 

 unclean, and my machete would be used later to 

 cut sugarcane and other things to eat." A whole 

 series of beliefs is associated with snakes; among 



10 For example, the tecolotc (No. 34) is thought to be the mes- 

 senger of the devil, who brings news of illness and death. Be- 

 cause of this, some kill it. But in order to do so, it is neces- 

 sary to mark a cross on seven shots and to add a bit of garlic 

 (to the barrel of the shotgun?). 



