THE TAJIN TOTONAC — PART 1 — KELLY AND PALERM 



97 



top of the other in the hive and are surrounded 

 and covered by "the nest." The latter is broken, 

 and the upper half of the superimposed disks is 

 removed to serve as the nucleus of the new colony. 



Previously, a sizable clay jar is prepared. A 

 small hole is punched in the side, as an opening; 

 but for the present, this is stuffed shut, usually 

 with a bit of paper and ash paste. In the bottom 

 of the jar, two slender sticks are placed parallel 

 to one another, and on top of them, at right angles, 

 two more are arranged. On this four-stick frame, 

 the disks containing the new colony are placed, 

 "not everyone uses the frame" ; some put the comb 

 directly on the floor of the vessel. 



The mouth of the jar is tightly covered — with a 

 gourd, whose convex surface fits into the aperture ; 

 with a large sherd; or with boards from a box. 

 Ash paste is smeared over the junctions and the 

 bees are left 4 days within the sealed jar. During 

 that time, they produce a very hard, dark gum, 

 apparently peculiar to the native bee, which is 

 known as atakawite (perhaps a Mexican word, his- 

 panicized; the Totonac term is kaskala), 24 and 

 with this they seal the cover in place and modify 

 the opening in the side wall. At the end of 4 

 days, the plug is removed from the aperture and 

 the bees come and go at will. 



Pottery hives are hung from the wall of the 

 house (pi. 4, b, c) ; or they sit on a horizontal pole 

 (pi. 4, /), or on a series of shelves (pi. 4, d) which 

 raises them off the ground. 



The honey of the native bee is considered pri- 

 marily medicinal, although some eat it "for pure 

 pleasure," with a special kind of bread (pan de 

 agua, made of flour and salt, but without eggs). 

 Anyone who consumes honey in quantity is 

 likely to run a temperature, since it is a "hot" 

 food. Unboiled honey has greater potency as a 

 remedy, but most is boiled, then stored in a clay 

 jar. Mixed with alcohol (refmo), it is taken as a 

 tonic by debilitated persons of either sex and is 

 considered especially helpful during pregnancy. 

 A tea made of honey and yerba dulce (Appendix 

 C, No. 150) is drunk to relieve menstrual pain. 

 Both sexes take honey for abdominal pain gener- 



21 Atakawite is not medicinal. With it are mended pots or 

 gourds, or any other container which is used for liquids but which 

 is not put on the fire. The gum is melted and the break sealed. 

 Formerly, although not within the memory of our informants, 

 atakawite was used to illuminate the house at night. A small 

 amount was lighted and placed on a sherd or In a clay dish ; no 

 wick was necessary. 



ally, and it is said to be effective in speeding slow 

 parturition. After birth, the mother may have 

 no milk for several days ; if it is unduly delayed, 

 the infant is allowed to suck a rag saturated with 

 honey. One of our friends, unable to nurse her 

 child during the first month following birth, 

 reared him largely by means of the honey-soaked 

 rag. In none of these cases is the honey of the 

 Old World bee an acceptable substitute. 



The wax, known as cera puera (dirty wax; Ki- 

 tam), is squeezed in the hands over a gourd, to 

 release it from the honey. Sometimes it is exposed 

 to the sun for a couple of days; sometimes it is 

 boiled at once. Nobody, man or woman should 

 watch the operator as the wax is being boiled. In 

 the evening, it is placed with water in a pottery jar 

 and the latter is left on the fire throughout the 

 night. In the morning, the pot is removed from 

 the hearth and cold water added. By the fol- 

 lowing day, the wax has solidified on the surface, in 

 the form of a cake whose size and shape correspond 

 to that of the mouth of the jar. The wax, which 

 is very dark, is washed well and is rubbed between 

 the hands until it turns yellow. It is not boiled 

 further but generally is formed into round cakes. 



We have no precise figures concerning produc- 

 tion. As a general thing, a family has from 1 to 

 5 colmenas of native bees ; however, one household 

 has 10, one 16, and another, 32. A woman whom 

 we asked claimed not to know how many hives she 

 has; the bees leave, she says, if one keeps close 

 count. Estimates concerning wax vary widely, 

 from an eighth to a full kilogram per colmena. 

 Obviously, the quantity varies according to the 

 frequency with which the wax is collected. Some 

 count the yield in liters, saying that three or 

 four hives may produce an almud (12 liters) . Al- 

 though this is a measure by volume, in Papantla, 

 wax is purchased by weight — formerly by the 

 pound, now, by the kilogram. The current price 

 is $4.50 pesos ; wax of the Old World bee sells for 

 slightly more. 



In Tajin, most families retain the wax for per- 

 sonal use. It is consumed almost exclusively in 

 the form of candles (liltam makantila ; from Span- 

 ish candil, candela%) — thin, ill-shapen, and very 

 brunette candles, which "smell very pretty as they 

 burn." Each household generally makes its own 

 candles; occasionally when an emergency arises, 

 they are purchased from neighbors. Sale is 



