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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



frowned upon, because ordinarily the candles have 

 been blessed by the priest the Day of Candlemas 

 (February 2). 



To make the candle, some moisten a table top 

 with water and spread the wax on it in a sheet — 

 about 10 cm. wide and the desired length of the 

 candle. A wick of commercial twine is dipped a 

 couple of times into the melted wax and then is 

 placed on the center of the wax sheet. The edges 

 of the latter are folded over to enclose the wick, 

 and the whole is then rolled until a candle of sorts 

 is produced. Some merely roll the wax between 

 the palms, working the wick into it. Occasion- 

 ally, the wax is melted and the wick dipped into it 

 several times in succession ; but never are the wicks 

 suspended from a wooden hoop and the wax drib- 

 bled on them in sequence, as is the practice when 

 making candles of the wax of the European bee. 



Diaz del Castillo (1: 192) notes that the Span- 

 iards showed the Totonac of "Cempoala" how to 

 make candles from the wax of the native bee. 



THE OLD WORLD BEE 



Only one type of imported domestic bee is rec- 

 ognized in Tajin. It is far less popular than is the 

 native form; fewer families have hives, and the 

 average per family is lower. We know only one 

 household which has more than three hives, this 

 exception being that of Jose Bautista, who makes a 

 practice of selling wax and honey. He has 38 

 enjambres of the intrusive bee, 32 colmenas of the 

 native form. 



The Old World bees are "delicate ; not everyone 

 can raise them." When a married couple bickers 

 constantly, either the bees leave or "worms" de- 

 stroy the hives. The same calamity results from 

 marital infidelity and from drunkenness. 25 In- 

 formants cite concrete examples with pleasure. A 

 couple we know wrangles incessantly ; both work 

 diligently at beekeeping, but with little success. 

 Neighbors remark that the case is hopeless. An- 

 other example is that of an old gentleman, now 



25 There are no such associations with the native bee- — perhaps 

 one reason why it is the more popular. The correlation between 

 beekeeping and righteous living may be Old World. At least, in 

 the mestizo town of Tuxcacuesco, in Jalisco, there is a common 

 belief that earnings from bees should be spent on clothing or food, 

 not on "vices," such as tobacco and wine. Otherwise, the bees 

 will abandon the hive (information from Jose' Marfa Corona). 



Foster (1942 a, p. 539), however, reports that the Popoluca 

 believe that the native bee cannot be kept successfully by families 

 who squabble continuously. 



dead, but a contemporary of the informant's 

 grandparents : 



He was a man who lived "very correctly." Once be 

 went to Papantla to sell the wax from his enjambres. 

 There he met a friend who persuaded him to sell it in 

 Gutierrez Zamora instead. The two went there; they 

 started to drink, and the trip ended in a big drunk. When 

 the man returned to Tajin, he had no bees. Formerly the 

 patio of his house was full — but now all had gone. 



The Old World bee is particularly sensitive to 

 contact with death. If one goes to a wake, he 

 should bathe before approaching the hives, or the 

 bees may leave. To soothe them, a black cloth, as 

 a sign of mourning, is placed on the box, or two 

 or three crosses are marked on it with soot. It also 

 is prudent to bring a candle from the wake and to 

 break it in small lengths, putting several, presum- 

 ably lighted, on top of the box in which the bees 

 are kept. 



The Old World bee requires more care than does 

 the native form. Boxes are arranged in the shade, 

 beneath shrubs in the patio of the house or under 

 a simple palm-thatched roof. They rest on two 

 sticks, which raise them a few inches from the 

 ground. Sometimes, during rains, the boxes are 

 moved inside the dwelling for protection. To 

 avoid a certain "worm" (kaltisalu^a), the box 

 must be cleaned from time to time and smoked 

 with incense. Tepehua ants (ta^ana ? a) also are a 

 pest, for they enter the hives and eat the young. 

 A certain bird (akpili^lit) roosts on a nearby tree 

 and eats the bees as they emerge from the hives, 

 and the domestic fowl also makes inroads. 



Some obtain their original stock from swarms 

 which have escaped to the monte. According to 

 one observer, the domestic bee swarms three times 

 a year. The first and second swarms are the lar- 

 gest; the third is the smallest, but it also is the 

 best, because the bees of this lot "are very hard- 

 working." 



To attract a swarm and to keep it from escaping, 

 a gasoline tin or some other metallic object is 

 beaten. Meanwhile, preparations are made to 

 capture the bees in a box. The latter is a common 

 alcohol, gasoline, or kerosene box (capacity, two 

 5-gallon tins) (pi. 4, e) purchased in Papantla, 

 It is washed and a bit of copal incense burned 

 inside, " to give it a nice smell." Some rub the box 

 with brown sugar to make it more attractive. 



If the swarm lights on an overhanging branch, 

 the latter either is shaken gently or is lopped off 



