134 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



Below is a description of the different kinds of 

 beans grown locally, based more on informants' 

 statements than on our observations : 



a. Frijol criollo (native bean) ) ; frijol de Castillo, (bean 

 of Castille). 



ka-n&stapu (kana, verdadero; stapu, frijol; true bean). 

 Called aklatamafiastapu by one informant, evidently in 

 error ; this term applies to beans which continue bear- 

 ing after the first harvest, a trait not characteristic of the 

 bean in question. 



Cutler : Phaseolus vulgaris L. ; "° Moore : Phaseolus sp. 

 (No. 233). 



Bush bean, ca. 30 cm. tall; small black (some brown?) 

 seeds ; pod ca. 15 cm. long ; borne in pairs. Planted in 



-IV 



Figure 16. — Frame for threshing beans; used only for 

 frijol criollo. See text (p. 134) for description and use. 

 Drawn from a photograph and field sketch; not to scale. 



maize field, but in a section separate from corn. Hole 

 punched with digging stick ; 3 to 4 seeds dropped in. Ca. 

 40 cm. left on all sides ; planted in rows. 



Grows best on slopes with good drainage. Planted 3 

 or 4 times a year: Candlemas (February 2) ; Holy Cross 

 Day (May 3) ; Day of our Lady of Carmen (July 16) ; 

 St. Michael's Day (September 29) ; or in December. Most 

 recommend February, May, December. 



Matures in 3 months ; plant dries after bearing. Dry 

 plant pulled and generally taken to house for thrashing. 

 In sunny weather, placed in the yard, on woven mat. 

 Plants heaped on mat and exposed to sun ; with heat, pods 

 open. Covered with another woven mat or an old canvas 



00 Two seed lots originally were identified by Dr. Cutler (un- 

 dated letter of December 1947) as the tepary bean, Phaseolus 

 arutifotius Gray, var. latifolius Freeman. Later (letter of August 

 2, HMO), he writes that "there is nothing tepary-like about your 

 beans I determined as such earlier, and the dull color was mainly 

 dust." 



and beaten with a light stick. Refuse removed and har- 

 vested beans repose beneath, on lower mat. 



Another arrangement for thrashing shown in figure 16. 

 A frame, thatched with palm on 3 sides, has floor of split 

 bamboo. Plants heaped on the floor and beaten with a 

 stick. Beans fall between interstices of bamboo, on woven 

 mat placed beneath. The Maya of Yucat&n apparently 

 use a similar device for shelling corn (Steggerda, pi. 20, e). 

 If it is raining, beans shelled by hand, over woven mat 

 on house floor. Plant held in left hand, root upward ; 

 butt of pod grasped between thumb and finger of left hand 

 (fig. 17). Seeds stripped from pod with thumb and fin- 



Figure 17. 



-Shelling beans. See text (p. 134) for descrip- 

 tion. 



ger of right hand, using rapid downward motion. This 

 technique for pods of fair size; if small, the plant merely 

 shaken over the mat. 



Considered the best flavored of all beans. 



Most plant only for home consumption ; others sell in 

 small quantity, usually locally, by liters. Said to bring 

 better price in Papantla than other beans. Frijol criollo 

 sold at $1.50 a kilogram, others ca. $1.00. 



Regarded as native. 



