THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



111 



Men generally plant the corn. Women are not 

 prohibited from doing so, but "it is not their work ; 

 a woman might plant a liter of maize, but she 

 would not plant by almudes" that is, on a large 

 scale. The Totonac farmer generally has the 

 assistance of 8 or 10 friends in planting. As in 

 felling, they may work either for wages or on the 

 basis of mano vuelta; but they are treated as 

 guests, not as hired hands. 



Even though a newly cleared field 43 be littered 

 with half -burned timber (pi. 5, h-d), almost in- 

 variably an effort is made to plant in rows (surcos) . 

 Ideally, the distance between the rows is about 

 1.5 m. This length is measured on the dibble and 

 a scratch or groove is cut, so that the digging stick 

 serves as a measure. A pole may be set up at each 

 end of the field, and the farmer sights across the 

 two, to aline his row. Or a single pole may be 

 stuck in the ground at the far end of the row, and 

 the farmer walks toward it planting as he goes, 

 taking two short steps after each hole opened by 

 the dibble. After the first harvest, planting is 

 simplified considerably. There is less debris in the 

 field, and the dry maize stalks of the previous 

 harvest delimit the rows. The new seed is planted 

 between the rows of the old crop. 



If the field has been planted previously, 8 men 

 usually can sow a destajo in one day ; some, how- 

 ever, reckon 14 men. Nemesio Martinez calculates 

 that with 15 men he can plant 2.75 destajos in a 

 day. However, if a new field is involved, because 

 of the time and effort devoted to alining the row s, 

 the work is at least double. This means, not 2 days 

 of work, but double the number of assistants, for 

 planting is completed in 1 day. 



If a field is rectangular, rather than square, the 

 rows run the width of the field, not the length, 

 because "the shorter the row, the more likely it is 

 to be straight." If a field is on a slope, planting 

 starts at the lower, left-hand corner, regardless 

 of cardinal directions. The men form a line, 

 abreast, each with his digging stick, and each at the 

 foot of a row. They then proceed uphill, each 

 planting his own row, and the group more or less 

 abreast. There is much sprightly banter, gener- 



41 A new field is known during the first year as a roza 

 (kanan'kan) ; thereafter, it generally is considered a mil pa 

 (takuenok, takustuk?). Mil pa has dual meaning. In the sense 

 just given, it refers to the field where the corn is planted. It may 

 also refer to the maize itself, in which case, the Totonac equiva- 

 lent is fawot. 



Planting season, summer or fall, is called canAt*. 



ously sprinkled with conversational obscenity, as 

 each one tries to complete his row first. The plant- 

 ing is not unlike one of our obstacle races, both in 

 procedure and in spirit of friendly rivalry. When 

 all finish their respective rows, the group troops 

 downhill, to what might be called the base line, and 

 planting is resumed. 



Holes for the seed are made with the dibble, and 

 undoubtedly there are good many individual varia- 

 tions in the manipulation of this instrument : 



One man holds it in his right hand and gives two or 

 three sharp thrusts with the point. With the first, the 

 hole is opened ; with the second, the ground is broken and 

 loosened, using the stick as a lever ; with the third, the 

 soil is further loosened, by working the stick from side 

 to side several times. In the resulting cavity, grains of 

 seed corn are dropped from the left hand, and, with the 

 stick, the soil from the same hole is knocked lightly over 

 the kernels. The foot is not used, as among the Maya, 

 and, in fact, the latter seem formerly to have covered the 

 cavity with the stick (Landa, p. 111). 



Another Totonac farmer jabs the soil with the dibble, 

 which he holds in the right hand. He then transfers it to 

 the left hand, and, with the right, drops the seed into the 

 hole. He, too, uses the stick to push the earth over the 

 grains. If it has rained little and the ground is hard, the 

 dibble is grasped in both hands. It is thrust into the 

 ground a couple of times, then is worked with a gyratory 

 motion, to loosen the soil. 



Maize is planted at a depth of one jeme (ca. 

 20 cm.). Some drop three kernels into the hole; 

 others, four or five ; "hired workers may plant six 

 or seven, because they are drunk," as a result of 

 excessive hospitality on the part of the host. 



Seed corn usually is carried in a maguey fiber 

 bag which is slung from the left shoulder and 

 hangs at the right side, level with the waist. This 

 bag is a commercial product, manufactured in the 

 Huasteca, and sold in Papantla. It is a recent 

 innovation and has all but replaced the old gourd 

 container (pu-can), with two holes for suspension 

 and an aperture to admit the hand. A few still use 

 the gourd, which is hung by a cord about the waist, 

 toward the right side. We heard no mention of a 

 seed container made of an armadillo shell, such as 

 Starr (p. 255) describes for the Tlacuilotepec- 

 Pahuatlan area, apparently among either Otomi 

 or Mexicano Indians. 



Those who assist in planting are treated as 

 honored guests. In the morning, before break- 

 fast, a copita ("a little snifter") is offered each, 

 and the bottle of alcohol (rcfino) is left on the 

 table, so that, subsequently, each may serve him- 



