128 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



KINDS OF CANE 



To all intents and purposes, there are two kinds 

 of cane, a "white" and a "purple," 56 with the lat- 

 ter subdivided into a heavy stalked form whose 

 color is confined to the skin, and a thin, spindly 

 type whose pith and skin are colored. The last 

 cane is used chiefly as a remedy for whooping 

 cough; the skin is removed and the child chews 

 the pulp. Other canes are believed to aggravate 

 a cough. 



White cane is the more difficult to grow. It 

 may be injured by too much water or too much 

 sun; it is easily knocked over by the wind, and 

 thereafter cannot be processed ; and it is a favorite 

 food of marauding animals. Moreover, if it is 

 not cut and milled at the indicated time, the juice 

 dries and the yield is small. On the contrary, the 

 large purple cane is more resistant ; it withstands 

 wind ; it is less favored by animals ; and one may 

 delay considerably in grinding it, without reduc- 

 tion in yield. Those who plant in quantity prefer 

 this heavy dark cane, and from it is made most of 

 the brown sugar manufactured in Taj in. 



PLANTING AND CARE 



Cane is believed to grow best in fields which 

 recently have been cleared of monte alto. In Taj in, 

 level land with poor drainage {aguachal) is pre- 

 ferred; and in this respect, cane fits nicely into 

 the local pattern, because neither maize nor 

 vanilla is suited to such terrain. However, cane 

 also is grown successfully on slopes. 



Like vanilla, cane is raised from cuttings. 

 Either "the point" of the stalk is used, or a length 

 of 2 jemes (ca. 40 cm.), so cut that three joints 

 are included. 



Planting takes place when there is ample pre- 

 cipitation — either during the drizzles of fall or 

 the cloudbursts of summer. Some consider Octo- 

 ber the best month; others, December; and one 

 recommends June. Within 20 days, the cuttings 

 sprout, and a minimum of 8 months passes be- 

 fore the cane is first cut. Those who plant in 



M Most informants recognize two kinds of cane, a "white" 

 (Mnkat) nm] a purple (sitsaka £ankat ; dark or black cane). 

 Several speak of a white cane striped with green (akiieok Wnkat : 

 shrimp cane ; because of its markings) but others say that this is 

 the same as the white. One informant speaks of a yellow cane, 

 not recognized by anyone else ; and another describes a "greenish" 

 variety (IstCknik C&nkat), which "never becomes hard." 



October count on cutting the following May ; and 

 December planting is ready by the next August. 

 New cane, however, may be left uncut as long as 

 a year and a half. 



Only in exceptional cases, when the individual 

 contemplates a shift from maize to cane, is the 

 latter planted between the rows of corn ; generally 

 it is put in a separate plot (canal, kat 2 cinkat ? - 

 nin) . Those who count their holdings by number 

 of plants rather than by hectares or destajos, often 

 have clumps of cane in the milpa or in the clear- 

 ing about the house, instead of in a field apart. 



The land is cleared and the earth is worked 

 with the metal coa to form rows. A hole then is 

 made with the digging stick. Sometimes it is dug 

 on an angle, and three or four cuttings are set in 

 the cavity, not upright, but inclined. They are 

 covered by earth to more than half their length. 

 Others make a more or less rectangular hole, into 

 which two or three cuttings are laid flat, in the 

 same axis as the hole ; in this case, the cutting is 

 completely covered by soil. Planting is in single 

 rows, about 2 m. apart. 



The plot is weeded until the cane is well grown, 

 but otherwise requires no attention. 



CUTTING 



When the cane "blossoms" it is ready for cutting 

 and ceases to grow. One waits a bit, in the belief 

 that the yield is higher, but too long a wait means 

 less sugar. 



Most seem to feel that maximum yield is derived 

 from cane cut in April or May. Many harvest 

 part of the field then, leaving the remainder until 

 November. At that time, brown sugar is marketed 

 so that money may be available for the expenses 

 connected with All Souls' Day. Moreover, on this 

 occasion, it is considered socially correct to bestow 

 gifts of cane sirup (cooked, but not solidified) on 

 relatives and compadres, so that they may eat it 

 with the oollitos de anis (p. 153) which are pre- 

 pared for that festival. Many harvest the cane 

 little by little, as the household needs either sugar 

 or cash, or both. Cutting in June and August is 

 considered least productive. 



"Cutting is more work than planting." With a 

 machete, the cane is hacked off low to the ground ; 

 a diagonal cut is considered imperative. Most 

 families are able to cut without outside assistance, 

 and sometimes women help. If a brother should 



