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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



self. Breakfast consists of bread (generally pur- 

 chased in Papantla, or made locally, by special 

 order), beans, rice, tortillas, and either coffee or 

 chocolate. If the famity is in a position to make 

 a special gesture, the chocolate is made not with 

 water, but with milk, which is purchased in Pa- 

 pantla or Tlahuanapa the previous day. Follow- 

 ing breakfast, there is another round of copitas, 

 and cigarettes are passed. 



Thereafter, the party proceeds to the field. 

 Each carries his dibble and, in his magney fiber 

 bag, some of the germinated seed. The balance of 

 the seed is borne by the owner. 



About 11 o'clock, the attentive host passes al- 

 cohol to the guests in the field. In early after- 

 noon, dinner is served, both preceded and followed 

 by further copitas. The main dish invariably is 

 mole, made with turkey, chicken, or pork. Rice 

 and atole agrio (fermented maize gruel, of 

 "purple" corn) complete the meal. In the late 

 afternoon, coffee is served; "Mauro Perez is the 

 only one who serves bread both in the morning and 

 the afternoon; in the other houses, one is given 

 only coffee." This may be because his wife is 

 one of the few in Taj in who knows how to make 

 bread and who has an oven for baking it. The 

 calculated costs on the day of planting are given 

 elsewhere (p. 122). 



Planting is far from grim. In the house, there 

 is a great bustle, with neighbor women come to 

 give a hand with the preparation of food. The 

 family altar has been decorated, and some time 

 during the day, a religious singer {cantor) may 

 come to chant and pray before it (see below). 



In the field, a jovial spirit pervades, in part 

 owing to generous tippling. All the men are re- 

 cently bathed and are dressed in clean clothing, in- 

 variably white. This is an obligation, because "a 

 los que van limpiecitos a la siembra, les sale el 

 maiz limpio; a los chorreados, les sale podrido y — 

 to those who go clean to the planting, the maize 

 turns out clean (well) ; to the grubby ones, it turns 

 out rotten (that is, rotted on the ear) . Some wear 

 their most festive raiment. Not only is a bright, 

 decorative handkerchief tied about the neck, but 

 one may even adorn the sheath of the machete. 



There are a number of ways of contributing to 

 a good harvest. Many believe that a heavy crop 

 results if ears of corn are hung from the rafters 

 of the house, in front of the family altar, and, 



in a good many homes, such maize is more or less 

 a permanent adornment. In no case, however, 

 does this seem to be the corn used for seed. Never 

 is maize taken to the church or to the priest to be 

 blessed, but in many homes a certain amount of 

 Catholic ritual is associated with the day of 

 planting. 



The family altar is decorated with flowers and 

 woven palm "stars" (p. 223-224). On it is placed 

 about a liter of the artificially germinated corn, 

 which is not moved until the maize in the fields is 

 "quite tall," when it is fed to the chickens. Copal 

 incense and candles made of the wax of the intro- 

 duced (not the native) bee are lighted on the altar, 

 and a food offering is placed on it — for each image, 

 rice, a dish of mole, perhaps some bread, a glass of 

 water, one of alcohol (refino), and a cup of maize 

 gruel. The food is identical with that which is 

 prepared for those who are to plant the field. 

 "People say that the food on the altar is for the 

 dead; they really mean that it is for the spirits 

 {animas)." 



To be on the safe side, the devout arrange for 

 the services of a local cantor, or religious singer 

 the day of planting. He chants a series of rosaries 

 (rosarios) — sometimes two, sometimes four, for 

 each of which he charges $2.00 pesos. During 

 planting season, he may be in considerable de- 

 mand, hence is not always available for an early 

 morning service, which most prefer. In that case, 

 he comes later in the day ; "a rosario is useful at 

 any hour." Prayers are addressed "not to St. Isi- 

 dore, but to St. Raphael, or to any other saint in 

 the house." For good measure, a number of 

 rockets are set off. 



Sometimes, to insure a good harvest, either of 

 maize or of vanilla, a special mass is sung — for St. 

 Anthony, St. Joseph, or St. Isidore — and a cross 

 is erected on the highest hill near the planting. 

 This involves bringing a priest from Papantla, 

 who charges $25.00 pesos for the simplest mass. 

 The expense is shared by a number of farmers. 

 More commonly, the Taj in planter is content with 

 local, Totonac talent, in the form of the cantor. 

 It is said that religious observations the day of 

 planting now are less frequent than they were 

 years ago. Now "some only sow corn; they do 

 nothing else." 



No religious services take place in the field the 

 day it is planted, and no sacrifices or offerings of 



