THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



89 



too greasy nor too dry." Some hours after the 

 meat has been sold, cracklings are ready, and the 

 demand generally exceeds the supply. 



The large intestine, well scraped and washed 

 with lime (cal) and lime (limon) juice, is used to 

 make blood sausage. The small intestines are fed 

 to the dogs. 



FOWL 



Since early times, poultry apparently has been 

 important among the Totonac. In 1580, both 

 turkeys (gallinas de la tierra) and chickens (ga- 

 llinas de Castillo) were abundant in the Totonac 

 pueblo of Tlacolulan, near Jalapa (Paso y Tron- 

 coso 5 :109) . As early as 1579, the raising of fowl 

 was significant economically in the Totonac pueblo 

 of Misantla, and turkeys and chickens were sold in 

 Veracruz, 20 leagues distant. It is said that no 

 matter how poor an Indian, each year he raised 

 more than 40 fowl (Kelacion de Misantla). 

 Poultry also was an important article of com- 

 merce in Papantla in the late sixteenth century 

 (Kelacion de Papantla). 



Today, virtually eyery household has either 

 chickens or chickens and turkeys ; few have ducks 

 or pigeons. The duck is of interest since it ap- 

 pears to be the Muscovy type, hence an aboriginal 

 domesticate. 



Chickens and turkeys are important econom- 

 ically because of their food and their sale value. 

 Socially, they are significant inasmuch as both the 

 birds and the eggs are considered the property 

 of the woman. One who was asked concerning 

 her personal possessions, mentioned only the mil- 

 ling stone (metate) and an assortment of poultry; 

 another listed two hives of bees and various fowl. 

 Of a neighbor woman, it is said, with righteous 

 feminine indignation, "She is not the owner of the 

 eggs of her house ; she cannot sell a chicken or even 

 an egg without permission of her husband." 



A man occasionally remarks that "chickens be- 

 long to the woman because she raises them" ; at the 

 same time, he is not above adding that it is he who 

 cultivates the maize which they are fed. If a 

 woman has no poultry, her husband unquestion- 

 ably gives the money with which she may buy a hen 

 or chicks, and this she is not expected to return. 

 But if she already has a hen and wants another, she 

 must pay for it from the proceeds of her egg sales. 



Female ownership probably is more theoretical 

 than actual. Although no man would think of 



killing or of selling a chicken or a turkey without 

 his wife's consent, a woman seldom sells poultry 

 without consulting her husband. Should she sell 

 in his absence, she reports the transaction when he 

 returns home; "if she says nothing he is angry." 

 However, the woman generally receives the money 

 from the sale of both fowl and eggs. Generally, 

 she is expected to spend it chiefly on kitchen sup- 

 plies. Any surplus may be used to purchase spe- 

 cial delicacies, such as "meat, cracklings, or bread," 

 or it may be spent on clothing and trinkets. In 

 needy households, the husband may dispose of 

 the money ; we know one family which places the 

 entire proceeds from the poultry in a "kitty," from 

 which fund the woman is expected to buy the bulk 

 of the food, excepting the maize, for the whole 

 family. 



Poultry is popular. Of the 39 families for whom 

 we have information, all but 2 keep fowl ; and these 

 2 households happen to consist each of a lone 

 individual. Of the remaining 37 families, 21 have 

 chickens, and 16 have both chickens and turkeys; 

 none raises turkeys alone. Numerically, chickens 

 are more than 10 times as plentiful as turkeys. 

 Our 39 families have a total of 124 turkeys, irre- 

 spective of sex and age; the corresponding total 

 for chickens is 1,652. 16 



Both chickens and turkeys receive pretty much 

 the same care. Young chicks are fed maize dough 

 (masa), and for young turkeys, cooked greens are 

 added to the maize paste ; 1T larger birds live 

 chiefly on dry corn. A turkey is said to eat con- 

 siderably more than a chicken, and the latter 

 forages, while the turkey does not. We can give 

 no relative figures because our census forms call 

 for a lump estimate of the maize fed to poultry. 



Feeding estimates vary widely. The lowest ex- 

 treme is found among a family which gives its 22 



"This figure probably is a bit too high. Data given by inform- 

 ants seemed reasonable, with one exception, that of a household 

 which claimed to have 200 hens. Inasmuch as the property was 

 not extensive and we had not noticed a major concentration of 

 fowl, we asked a second time, and were given the same figure. 

 However, neighbors say that this family probably has nearer 50 

 than 200 hens. 



17 This probably is an old culture trait. According to Sahagun 

 (3: 190), turkeys ". . . comen mafz mojado cuando pequeSas, y 

 tambien bledos cocidos y molidos y otras hierbas . . ." 



In Tzintzuntzan, chicks also are fed maize dough (Foster, 1048, 

 p. 117), but this practice is not universal in Mexico today. In 

 parts of Jalisco, chicks are given broken, dry corn, and in the 

 highlands of Veracruz, about Altotonga, they are raised on broken 

 rice and sesame (information respectively from Jos€ Marfa Corona 

 and Marfa Cristina Alvarez). 



