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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



would be veiw dark"; others state with simple 

 finality that they have never seen a tortilla made 

 of this corn. Although fowl refuse to eat maiz 

 morado (sic), it is fed to hogs and to horses. 



It is said that "some plant only white corn, but 

 most plant a little maiz morado for gruel." The 

 seed never is mixed with the white, and purple corn 

 invariably is sown in separate rows, generally 

 along the edge of the field. Agapito Perez plants 

 3 liters of this maize, which he considers sufficient 

 for the atole requirements of his family of three 

 adults and a child. 



Several subclasses of maiz morado are recog- 

 nized by Modesto Gonzalez. In the paragraphs 

 below, his comparisons presumably refer to the 

 large white corn described above. 



a. Iaqa0it {maiz ciego, blind corn). In the field, "this 

 corn looks like the white, but the stalk and the ear are 

 somewhat thinner." The husk may be either white or 

 reddish. The harvest is mixed, with some white and some 

 purplish-red ears. The cobs also are of either color. How- 

 ever, atole made from this corn is "purple" (really a sort 

 of mulberry color). 



6. s"A0i0a,qat-laqa£it (black laqa^it). The cane, leaf, 

 blossom, and husk are identical in color with those of white 

 corn, and the ear is the same size. The grain is larger, 

 but "the color of the atole does not turn out well ; it is not 

 purple." This maize is used for fermented gruel, but "the 

 people do not like it very much." 



c. snu-nkut-laqa0it (orange laq&#t). In the field, this 

 corn is recognizable because "the ear is short and small, 

 and the stalk and leaf are thin." Nevertheless, in color, 

 it is indistinguishable from the white corn. Gruel made 

 from it is "purple." 



d. pa-tfit-laqa<ftt (purple laq&tfit). This name is given 

 "because the husk, stalk, flower, and cob are purple" ; 

 and the leaf has a thin line of the same color down the 

 middle. The ear is smaller than that of the white corn. 

 Atole of this maize is "purple" ; and for good measure, 

 some cooks add a bit of the husk to intensify the color. 



Maiz Colorado. — At least three different kinds of 

 corn are considered red by the Totonac. For two, 

 our data are scanty, but for the third, they are full. 

 Curiously enough, the latter red maize (ilkon) is 

 not eaten by humans and seldom by animals, yet it 

 is found in most of the fields because of its alleged 

 magical properties. Supposedly, it protects the 

 other maize from damage by "wind, sun, and 

 eclipse; it is the father himself, the chief of the 

 corn" ( el mero padre, el jefe del maiz) . Moreover, 

 it is considered a remedy for whooping cough and 

 other maladies. 



a. ilkon. This red maize 37 is said to appear spontane- 

 ously in fields in which the large white corn is planted. 

 Although the seed be all white, invariably the harvest wiU 

 include some red ears. However, if the small white maize 

 is planted, kernels from two or three ears of red are mixed 

 with the seed, for the small white does not produce red 

 spontaneously. 38 



Although it is steeped with lime, as are the other corns, 

 it is said that the skin of the ilk6n cannot be removed. 

 Accordingly, the dough is "bad" and is, moreover, red. 

 "The people want only white tortillas," hence ilkon is not 

 used for maize cakes. Nor, as a rule, is it prepared as 

 gruel, although sometimes a small quantity is mixed with 

 white corn for this purpose. Some afBrm and others deny 

 that it is eaten by fowl ; all agree that it can be fed hogs 

 and horses ; however, it is believed that "a pig will never 

 fatten" if fed ilkon. 



The plant and that of white corn (presumably the large 

 white) are said to be identical in appearance. But when 

 the field is dry, the husks turn slightly reddish. There- 

 fore, until late in the season, there is no way of distin- 

 guishing ilkon from white corn, without stripping the 

 husks from the ear. According to local reports, "the red 

 corn is that which has the largest ear, that which weighs 

 the most ... it is the king of the ears." 



6. toqoqkfisi, 0ocoqokusi. This is another red corn 

 which appears spontaneously in a field of large white. The 

 pigment is said to be confined to the skin, which is removed 

 when the grain is steeped in lime ; accordingly, this par- 

 ticular red corn is satisfactory for tortillas. A specimen 

 sent Dr. Anderson is described by him as similar to "a 



37 Concerning ilk6n, Dr. Anderson writes : "All with red cobs 

 and red pericarp, coloring which is due to the gene P. In various 

 ears of the collection, this color varies from deep red to a light 

 terracotta ; the differences are partly due to maturity but are 

 probably even more affected by various alleles of P. As a whole, 

 the corn is like a tropical cylindrical dent, aside from a tendency 

 to shorter ears, pointed kernels, and more tapering ears. The 

 population diagram suggests a mixture of tropical cylindrical 

 and Mexican pyramidal. 



"Unlike the color of the purple corn, this pericarp color does i 

 not show in the embryo, consequently a white ear which has 

 been pollinated wholly or in part by this red corn gives no indi- 

 cation to the farmer that a cross has occurred. Yet when these i 

 white kernels are planted, at least one half the resulting seedlings 

 will bear red ears. Their pollen of course will help to carry on 

 the trait for still another generation. These genetic facts help 

 to explain why red (P) and variegated or mosaic red, though 

 seldom characterizing a variety, are nevertheless so frequently I 

 met with in fields of white corn in Latin America. Once the red i 

 has mixed into a white variety it cannot be rogued out merely j 

 by inspecting the seed ears. However, it is so frequently said 

 to have magic properties that deliberate seeding of a few red 

 grains is probably fairly common in plantings of white varieties." 



3S In time, this practice probably will disappear because mer- 

 chants in Papantla refuse to purchase obviously mixed corn. 

 Owing to this pressure, two of our acquaintances in Tajfn no I 

 longer mix red seed with their small white. 



Moreover, one informant says that although the red iik6n does ' 

 not appear in a field of small white, there is a lighter colored red 1 

 corn which does crop up spontaneously. Since its pigment is 

 confined to the skin of the grain, it may be used for tortillas. ; 

 This light-red maize was mentioned by only one informant ; we I 

 do not know its Totonac name, nor do we have specimens. 



