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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



fed to the swine. Bananas and calabasas also are 

 given them, "when there are any to spare." 



Owing to the differences in food requirements 

 and in the variability of the nonmaize feeding, it 

 is pretty hard to say just how much corn is given 

 a pig. A small one may eat as little as half a liter 

 a day; a larger one, between 1.5 and 3 liters. But 

 a hog which is being fattened is given about 6 liters 

 daily — eight times the average daily consumption 

 of an adult human being in Taj in. Not all maize is 

 equally good for a swine. Some raise yellow corn 

 especially for fattening pigs. However, Ana 

 Mendez reports that her little porker developed 

 diarrhea when she gave it to him ; she also claims 

 that a hog which eats a certain kind of red maize 

 (ilkon) never will fatten. She relies exclusively 

 on white corn. 



When a pig is to be fattened, it is given salt 

 water daily, or in its stead, tequesquite, an alkali, 

 collected on the shores of dry lakes, and sold in 

 Papantla. "A good pig" is fattened in 8 months ; 

 "a lazy one" requires a full year. 



At least one resident of Tajin, Magdaleno 

 Mendez, is able to castrate. For a female, he 

 charges $1.50 pesos; for a male, $1.00. The oper- 

 ation must be performed either when the moon is 

 full or when it is new. The cut is made with a 

 sharp knife, then is sewn with needle and thread, 

 and rubbed with ash. Sometimes flies lay their 

 eggs in the wound, and these are killed by apply- 

 ing the "milk" from a tree described as similar to 

 one of the figs (Appendix C, No. 222) . Following 

 castration, the animal is tethered. If, after 4 days, 

 the wound has healed, the pig is released. It is 

 fed leaves of the sweetpotato vine to stimulate 

 appetite, and shortly thereafter, begins to eat 

 "everything." 



Hogs are not inexpensive; a young one costs 

 from $30 to $50 pesos; a large one, several hun- 

 dred. They are purchased in Tajin or in Pa- 

 pantla. A Totonac who sells a pig often cuts 

 the tip of the tail and sticks it for safekeeping 

 between the upright poles which form the wall of 

 the house, so that "the breed may not terminate." 



Other than fowl, pork is the only meat which is 

 available with any frequency. A medium-sized 

 animal, still not sufficiently fat for the market, 

 may be killed for home consumption. Quite often, 

 well-fattened pigs are butchered locally ; the own- 

 er circulates among neighboring families, taking 



orders days in advance, to be sure that none of the 

 meat will be left on his hands. 



To slaughter a pig, two men are necessary, but 

 generally there is a sizable gathering of interested 

 male relatives. Since the whole business is within 

 the family, there is no question of payment. 

 Slaughter takes place before dawn. The front 

 feet of the animal are tied together first; the 

 same cord is passed to the rear feet, which then 

 are tied. The hog is placed on its left side, with 

 its head over the edge of a pit which has been dug 

 in the ground. One of the men sits astride the 

 animal and thrusts a knife into the neck, in such 

 manner that the tip reaches the heart. The blood 

 is caught in a vessel which is placed in the pit. 



Immediately thereafter, the carcass is shoved 

 over the pit, being supported on a series of poles. 

 And within the hole, a rapid fire of paper and dry 

 cornhusks is lighted. In this quick blaze, the 

 hog is thoroughly singed. It is not treated with 

 hot water, although this is known to be the prac- 

 tice about Tuxpan. Next, the carcass is lifted to a 

 table, where the skin is well washed and scraped. 

 A ventral cut is made and the internal organs re- 

 moved. The inner side of the legs are slit and the 

 skin is peeled off, together with the adhering fat. 

 Once stripped of its cushion of fat and of its 

 skin, the carcass is butchered ; by early morning, 

 meat is ready for sale. 



Certain cuts are recognized : legs, ribs, and spine. 

 Those who buy in considerably quantity may take 

 such a cut; but others, who want less meat, pur- 

 chase somewhat amorphous hunks. All meat is 

 sold at two standard rates; with bone, at $3.00 

 pesos the kilogram ; and without bone, at $4.00 or 

 $4.50 pesos — slightly less than current Papantla 

 prices. 



The fat is separated from the skin; the latter 

 is cut in strips ; the fat, in small squares. Both, 

 together with water and salt, are boiled in a large 

 copper vat (paila). Not every copper vessel will 

 serve, only one whose interior has a tin wash; 

 otherwise the flavor is disagreeable. A few house- 

 holds have a special copper container destined 

 exclusively for the preparation of lard. This is 

 loaned free of charge to relatives, but an outsider 

 generally pays $2.50 pesos. Lard sells at about 

 $5.00 pesos the kilogram ; again, slightly less than 

 the Papantla price. Certain individuals have spe- 

 cial skill in preparing cracklings "that are neither 



