THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



91 



hen in the late evening, when the laundry for the 

 day has been done ; if clothing is washed immedi- 

 ately after the hen is set, the eggs will turn to 

 water. Similarly, if one purchases eggs for hatch- 

 ing and must pass an arroyo on the return trail, 

 it is necessary to "cure" the eggs. Dry tobacco 

 and green leaves pulled from any tree at hand are 

 placed in a container with the eggs, and over all, 

 a bit of ash is sprinkled. Thus protected, the eggs 

 may be carried across the arroyo undamaged. 



Care is taken that a cock have no access to a 

 setting hen, for fear the eggs will spoil. However, 

 there is no technique for preventing a hen from 

 breaking the eggs or from eating them. At the 

 moment the chickens are hatched, it is essential 

 that no one sweep the premises and that there be 

 no family bickerings ; either may cause malforma- 

 tion: feet with five toes instead of four, "club- 

 footedness," etc. 



Once the chicks are hatched, the shells are 

 sprinkled with ash and are left at a fork in the 

 trail, "to confuse animals of prey." However, not 

 everyone thus disposes of the shells. Agustina 

 Mendez says that she "plants" hers; that is, she 

 buries them so that the hens will not wander far 

 from the house and thus run greater risk from 

 preying animals. To protect eggs and chicks from 

 dogs, a small nick is made in the ears and the tail 

 of the dog ; and as protection against hogs, alcohol 

 is poured into the mouth of the pig; "it becomes 

 drunk and later eats nothing." 



A hen with chicks is tethered close to the house 

 for a week or more, in the hope that the brood may 

 escape the aradores, minute red insects which may 

 cause death. A chick infested with these pests, 

 has the head and tail singed with a burning splin- 

 ter and the wing feathers cut ; or the chick is bathed 

 in salt water. 



For the first month, young chickens are fed 

 mostly maize dough. During Holy Week, they 

 become very fretful ( a se ponen muy chillones") . 

 At this time the laurel (Appendix C, No. 130) is 

 in bloom and, as a remedy, its flower is mixed with 

 the dough. One informant thinks this prepara- 

 tion gives protection against the aradores. Occa- 

 sionally chicks are given rice ; they also are fed the 

 wood borer known as comejen, but the latter deli- 

 cacy generally is reserved for the young turkeys. 

 Grown chickens are fed twice a day and are given 



893477—52 8 



the entire maize kernel; a hen fed recently har- 

 vested corn will cease laying. 



Chickens thrive in Taj in, but during winter, 

 young ones may die of the cold. The two com- 

 monest diseases are sta*tat ? ka, a fever, and pak- 

 sui -t, chicken pox (?) Other hazards are animals, 

 such as the hawk, opossum, raccoon, lynx (?) 

 (onza), and fox. 



Chicken is eaten from time to time, but not very 

 frequently; it and pork are the two meats which 

 appear most commonly in the Taj in diet. To kill 

 a chicken, the bird is held securely against the 

 thigh, feet upward, and the head is given a sharp 

 downward jerk. 



A young cock sells for somewhat less than a 

 pullet. If the latter brings, for example, $1.50 

 pesos, a cock will be worth $1.00 peso. But once 

 grown, a cock (puyu; presumably from the Span- 

 ish polio) consistently sells for more than a hen 

 (stilan). Prices range from $2.50 to $3.50 or 

 $4.00 pesos. Sometimes a vendor asks as much as 

 $5.00 pesos, but with scant hope of extracting such 

 a price without taking his bird to Papantla for 

 sale. 



To carry a chicken from one place to another, it 

 is tucked under the arm, usually with the feet 

 tied. Some carry a bird in the maguey fiber 

 shoulder bag. One of the side seams is ripped a 

 few inches and through this opening the head of 

 the fowl protrudes. 



When a rooster is either killed or sold, its feet 

 are cut and are hung on the kitchen wall or are 

 placed on a hanging shelf in the kitchen. The 

 feet of immature cocks and of hens are not pre- 

 served. Interestingly enough, one informant ob- 

 serves this custom for turkeys but not for chick- 

 ens. The objective is "para que no se acabe la 

 cria," so that the strain may not end. For the 

 same reason, a couple of feathers are plucked from 

 the chicken of either sex when it is killed or sold, 

 and in some kitchens sizable bundles of feathers are 

 to be seen. Moreover, when a vendor chooses be- 

 tween two birds, that which does not meet with his 

 approval is rubbed with ash and a few grains of 

 salt are inserted in the beak ; otherwise it may be 

 eaten by a predatory animal. 



Eggs bring a higher price in Papantla than in 

 Tajin — often double; and, as an aside, the price 

 in Papantla is about half that of Mexico City. 

 There is considerable seasonal variation; begin- 



