THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



117 



ever, "it is not well to leave the corn in the field 

 over a month, for it may be stolen, or the plants 

 fall and the ears rot." The heavy rains may start 

 before the summer harvest, and between rain and 

 wind, many stalks are knocked down. The ears 

 on the ground are collected first, or they sprout. 



The general harvest takes place following a 

 few days of sun and with the assistance of "a few 

 friends," generally four to eight for a destajo. 

 Again, the men work either for pay or on the 

 promise of return assistance, and, as usual, the 

 host is under obligation to feed the workers. 



In harvesting, the ear is grasped in the hand 

 and is twisted slightly to free it from the stalk. 

 The ears are collected in small heaps scattered 

 over the field and then are taken to a temporary 

 shelter in the field, usually thrown together of 

 palm. Invariably, maize is hauled on the back, 

 in large commercial sacks ; baskets are not used in 

 harvesting, as in many parts of Mexico. 



Both men and women gather corn and haul it to 

 the granary. Formerly, the latter was built in 

 the field, and the family drew on the stock from 

 time to time. However, some fields are far re- 

 moved from the dwelling (p. 61), and the neigh- 

 bors likewise developed the habit of drawing on 

 the cache. Now it is considered "more convenient" 

 to store the corn in or near home base. The maize 

 is collected in the temporary shelter until there is 

 opportunity to transfer it to the more permanent 

 granary at home. While the crop remains in the 

 hut in the field, the owner generally stays on guard 

 during the night. Granaries are described else- 

 where (p. 203). 



No husking pin is used. Maize is stored with the 

 shuck and the latter is not removed until the corn 

 is to be used — to eat, to sell, or to plant. Without 

 the protective covering, the weevils soon infest the 

 ear. Maize is shelled only as needed, a small 

 amount every few days, with the assistance of the 

 children. Generally the kernels are removed with 

 the hands, holding the ear in one hand and twist- 

 ing it slightly while, with pressure from the other 

 hand, the rows are broken off and the kernels fall 

 into a wooden tray or some other container. 



A few use an olotera (olote, cob) for shelling. 

 This consists of a large number of cobs alined ver- 

 tically to form a disk, about the circumference of 

 which a wire is tightly wrapped. Against the disk 

 the ears are rubbed to remove the grains. 



The dry stalk and leaf are left in the field to rot ; 

 they are not used as fodder, although the tassel 

 often is cut for the animals. The cob (olote; in 

 Tajin, usually tolote; sapasma) is used as fuel. 

 The corn silk is put to no use, save that of the red 

 maize, ilkon, from which a remedy for diarrhea 

 is prepared. 



The green husk from young ears is eaten by the 

 animals, and the dry husk (totomoxtle, iskam) 

 has many uses as a wrapping material. 



For a variety of reasons, it is impossible to ob- 

 tain accurate figures concerning maize production. 

 In the first place, during many weeks, corn is cut 

 in the field as it is needed, so that when the general 

 harvest takes place, a relatively large proportion 

 already has been consumed. In the second place, 

 corn invariably is stored on the ear and is shelled 

 only as needed. Naturally, the total volume of 

 shelled corn is known only in very special cases, 

 when the entire crop from a field is to be sold. In 

 short, informants themselves do not know the 

 precise yield. 



There is a further complication. A good many 

 families were alarmed by our inquiries and feared 

 that taxes might be raised if they appeared unduly 

 prosperous. However, they responded frankly 

 and in great detail to questions concerning the 

 daily consumption of corn; likewise, to queries 

 concerning the amount bought and sold. Appar- 

 ently none realized that these data, calculated on 

 the basis of the 6 months required for each harvest, 

 would give a fair check on production. 



In a number of cases, the alleged yield is only 

 a fraction of the declared consumption. For 

 example, the total maize requirements for one 

 family, during 6 months, cannot be less than 12 

 fanegas. By their own statement, they purchased 

 only 2 fanegas. Obviously, their field must have 

 produced close to 10 fanegas, although they main- 

 tained that they harvested only 3. A more extreme 

 case is provided by a family which consumes 30 

 fanegas every 6 months. It claimed to have har- 

 vested only 3 fanegas the winter of 1946. Of this, 

 a small amount was sold, but the informant was 

 uncertain of the precise quantity. Nevertheless, 

 he artlessly admitted in late spring that the corn 



