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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



half-grown and full-sized birds only 1 liter of 

 maize daily. 18 In contrast, another family with 

 four birds, feeds them 6 liters a day ; and another 

 with two, gives the pair 3 liters. We have data 

 for 29 families; on an average, they give 1 liter 

 of maize daily to every 6.1 birds — an allotment 

 which seems reasonable. 



Nests for setting hens are made of dry banana 

 leaves or cornhusks, often directly on the earth 

 floor of the dwelling and preferably beneath a 

 bench, where they are out of the way. The most 

 popular nest is one arranged within a large sherd 

 of a clay jar. For a turkey hen the curve of the 

 jar should be smaller than for a chicken, for "if 

 the eggs roll from beneath the body, the turkey 

 makes no effort to collect them." The sherd may 

 sit directly on the floor, and we saw one placed, 

 at least during the day, on the platform bed of the 

 dwelling. For a turkey, invariably the nest is 

 inside the house, otherwise she will abandon the 

 eggs. Ana Mendez places it in one corner of the 

 house and leans short lengths of bamboo diagon- 

 ally against the house wall, to form a shelter over 

 the nest. For chickens, the sherd (or a wooden 

 box, in its stead) often is outside, on a frame sup- 

 ported by four forked sticks set in the ground. 

 Each nest has its individual frame, generally 

 against the house wall, where the eaves give some 

 protection from sun and rain. 



Many families provide no particular shelter for 

 their fowl ; of the 39 households mentioned above, 

 only 8 have poultry houses. Grown birds ordi- 

 narily sleep out of doors, on the branches of a tree 

 adjacent to the family dwelling. Here they are 

 exposed to the inroads of raccoons and opossums 

 and, moreover, "if a cloudburst comes during the 

 night, they may fall from the tree and drown." 

 During the rainy season, a special shelter generally 

 is provided for hens with chicks. There are two 

 principal kinds. One is a simple hut made of 

 poles and bamboo, with a forked stick frame and 

 with a thatched roof which may be either gabled 

 or of one shed (pi. 17, b). More frequently a coni- 

 cal shelter is formed by leaning short lengths of 

 bamboo against the trunk of a tree or against a 

 vertical post (pi. 17, a). One or two lengths of 

 bamboo are removed during the day ; at night, the 



18 A neighbor woman notes that this family complains fre- 

 quently that its poultry has been stolen. Probably, she says, the 

 birds are insufficiently fed and so wander from home. 



fowl are chased into the hut and the bamboo re- 

 placed. Probably this structure gives more pro- 

 tection from prowling beasts than it does from the 

 rain. Occasionally a pen is built, with a flat palm 

 roof, to provide shade for fowl during the spring 

 months. Ordinarily, all poultry wanders freely, 

 at least by day. 



CHICKENS 



We do not know in what year the Old World 

 domestic fowl was introduced in the Papantla 

 area, but it must have been accepted with alacrity 

 by a people already used to turkey-raising because 

 of a number of practical advantages: it is more 

 hardy, eats less, and matures more rapidly. 



A hen with no tail is supposed to be a good layer, 

 but since the local stock is not bred for laying, 

 most hens attempt to set with monotonous fre- 

 quency. As a result, practically every Totonac 

 woman is a chicken breeder. If a hen abandons 

 the eggs, she is replaced by another, sometimes 

 borrowed; in that case, the borrowed bird is re- 

 turned, accompanied by one or two chicks, accord- 

 ing to the size of the brood. The same arrange- 

 ment holds if a rooster is borrowed, for not every 

 family has a cock. Of our 37 families with chick- 

 ens, 11 have no roosters, although one claims 40 

 hens. Among the remaining families, the ratio of 

 cocks is highly variable. In one household, they 

 almost equal the hens in number ; at the other ex- 

 treme, the ratio is 1 rooster per 50 hens. The 

 average is about 1 to 7. 



Eggs are inspected against a strong light, to de- 

 termine whether or not they are fertile. B}' day, 

 they are held against the sun which passes between 

 the upright poles of the house wall ; by night, they 

 are held in front of a lighted candle. If the egg 

 contains a dark spot (called coronita, little crown) , 

 it is suitable for hatching. 



The number of eggs selected ranges from 8 to 15, 

 according to the size of the hen. February is the 

 best month for hatching; "then the cold weather 

 is past and fewer chicks die." However, it is ad- 

 visable not to set a hen during very hot weather, 

 for the eggs "turn to water and crack." The moon 

 has no bearing on the success of the enterprise, but 

 eggs which are set on Sunday produce only male 

 chicks; of the other days of the week, all are 

 equally auspicious. 



Some believe that a pregnant woman will have 

 little success with chicks. It is preferable to set a 



