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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



on hand would see his family through to the next 

 crop. 



In one case, at least, a marked discrepancy was 

 explained satisfactorily. The informant was 

 shown that his normal consumption exceeded his 

 harvest, despite the fact that he insisted he bought 

 no corn. Eventually, it turned out that he pur- 

 chased no maize simply because, when the stock 

 was exhausted, his family ate plantains or bananas 

 instead of corn. 



Probably most families in Taj in raise sufficient 

 corn for their own consumption — and, at the same 

 time, have relatively little surplus. Concerning 

 purchase and sale of maize, we have information 

 from 34 families (table 10) . Naturally, the record 

 is too incomplete to permit much generalization, 

 but it accords pretty well with our impressions. 

 A few families report a deficit each season ; others 

 say smugly that they never have to buy corn. 

 Sales exceed purchases, both in total and by fam- 

 ily average. Probably the 1946 summer crop is 

 to be considered normal, but most farmers com- 

 plain that the harvest of the following winter was 

 unusually poor. The latter fact is demonstrated 

 in table 10, the reduction being particularly evi- 



Table 10. — Maize purchases and sales 





Following 1946 

 summer harvest 



Following 1946 

 winter harvest 



Purchases and sales 



Number 



of 

 families 



Liters 



of 

 maize 



Number 



of 

 families 



Liters 



of 

 maize 



Purchases: 



25 



'7 



2 





22 

 12 

 









Record incomplete—- . . . 



2,232 



96-792 



319 







3 2,640 



Range of purchases 







120-576 



Average per family 3 





24 

 10 



330 



Sales: 



None__ 



18 

 ' 16 





Sold maize. - 





Total maize sold .; : 



• 11,520 



144-1, 728 



823 



5 3, 984 



Range of sales. 





24-1,152 









569 











1 One family achieved the unique distinction of functioning both as 

 vendor and buyer. Through miscalculation, the summer crop was sold 

 in excess, and before the new harvest, 100 liters had to be purchased. 



3 Total, range, and average based on 8 of the 12 families. For 3, the 

 amount purchased was not determinable. The fourth case is special, 

 because the farmer abandoned his milpa to movte, hence was obliged to 

 purchase the entire supply for 6 months— in this case, 17 fanegas, or 

 2,448 liters. Inasmuch as this amounts nearly to the sum of the purchases 

 of the other families, it was excluded. 



3 Average per family based not on total number of families, but 

 respectively on those who have purchased or who have sold maize. 

 The averago would be far lower if all Tajin families were included. 



* Total, range, and average based on 14 of the 16 families. One was 

 uncertain of the amount sold. The other obviously was so far outside 

 the normal range that inclusion would warp the situation as a whole. 

 It sold 22 fanegas (3,168 liters) — almost double that of any other family. 



• Total, range, and average based on 7 of the 10 families. Three sold in 

 small quantity (by almudes, that is, in lots of 12 liters) but could 

 make no estimate of total sales. 



dent in the sales, which total about one-third of the 

 previous summer. 



A few of the most prosperous families — perhaps 

 8 or 10 in the entire community — plant 2 or 3 hec- 

 tares instead of the usual 1 or 1.5 ; accordingly, in 

 good years, they are able to sell a considerable 

 quantity of corn. Two such families are included 

 in the list. One sold the summer harvest in such 

 quantity that the sales were deleted from table 10 

 (footnote 4) ; however, winter sales were only one- 

 tenth as great and are well within the normal 

 range. 



On the whole, most Tajin farmers do not sell 

 maize. Those who do, generally market by the 

 fanega (144 liters), but a few sell on small scale, 

 by the almud (12 liters). If our sample is repre- 

 sentative and if the summer crop is normal, we 

 may say that most families with surplus corn are 

 able to sell about 800 liters, or between 5 and 6 

 fanegas a crop. 



Price varies widely, and it is difficult to appraise 

 transactions in terms of cash. When the new crop 

 is in, maize is abundant and cheap; toward the 

 end of the season, it is scarce and expensive. In a 

 single season, the price ranges from $15.00 to $55.00 

 pesos the fanega; probably $35.00 is a reasonable 

 average. However, those with surplus corn usu- 

 ally unload early, at a low price, before the weevils 

 make inroads ; and those who do not grow sufficient 

 for their needs feel the pinch toward the end of 

 the season, when the price is high. 



Although the Totonac farmer is vague concern- 

 ing the amount of corn he harvests, he knows pre- 

 cisely how much he plants, for this is measured 

 carefully. However, at the time our census in- 

 quiries were made, we were still not aware of the 

 custom of replanting — that is, of planting subse- 

 quently to replace seed which has not germinated. 

 As far as we know, the amount of seed reported by 

 informants applies to the main planting only, 

 but because of replanting, the amount actually 

 sown consistently is somewhat greater than our 

 figures indicate. Nevertheless, the liter of seed 

 corn which is left on the family altar compensates 

 in part, and it seems likely that the corn which 

 actually goes into the field is about 2 liters more 

 than our records show. 



