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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



fashion. The banana and plantain, however, en- 

 joy great popularity. That they play a major role 

 in Tajin is clear from the fact that of 38 families, 

 only 3 do not plant ; and 2 of these have no corn- 

 field, hence little opportunity. The number of 

 trees per household varies from 1 to 200, with an 

 average of about 50 per family. A single banana 

 tree is reputed to produce 5 or 6 racemes annually, 

 each of about 7 bunches (manos) , each bunch com- 

 posed of 10 to 20 individual fruits. One plantain 

 (pldtano de Costilla) yields 2 to 3 fruits to each 

 mono; the other (pldtano macho), 10 to 12. 



Of the 35 families with banana and plantain 

 trees, 12 consume their total crop. One household 

 has only young trees, not yet in production; an- 

 other is unable to harvest, because of the inroads of 

 the prairie dogs ; and a third states that his plant- 

 ings have been choked by monte. However, the 

 remaining families have a surplus which is sold, 

 either in Tajin or in Papantla. Most sell on small 

 scale, by bunches; two sell by the raceme of ap- 

 proximately 7 bunches ; and two more market by 

 the load (cargo) , each load containing 40 bunches. 

 The price varies from $0.10 to $0.50 pesos a bunch, 

 although one informant claims to have extracted 

 $0.85. Most are unable to calculate the cash re- 

 turns, since sales are on a small scale ; $60.00 pesos 

 is the maximum annual income claimed by any 

 family of our census. 



The Totonac have a bewildering assortment of 

 bananas, in addition to two plantains ; for none are 

 we able to give botanical determinations. All are 

 called by the generic term of seakna, with qualify- 

 ing adjectives, either in Totonac or Spanish. Some 

 are distinguished by color, some by form, others 

 by presumed provenience. All told, 12 distinct 

 kinds of banana and/or plantain are recognized : 

 morado (tutoqosa, 0u0oko, so^qo seakna); ama- 

 rillo (smukuko seakna) ; verde (kinia seakna) ; 

 moreno; enano (tilin seakna) ; durazno, pera, or 

 bolsa; manzano; Manila; Guineo; Roatan; largo 

 or Costilla (kana seakna; qanasa seakna) ; macho 

 (kawi seakna). The two latter apparently are 

 plantains. In general, Spanish terms are most 

 used; the Manila banana, for example, is known 

 merely as Manila seakna. 



Bananas and plantains are grown from shoots 

 which appear about the base of the trunk. The 

 shoot is pulled out, together with the adhering 

 "head" or root. The latter is placed in a cavity 



about 25 cm. deep, with the shoot emerging, not 

 upright, but at a sharp angle. The root is cov- 

 ered with soil and, in time, the exposed shoot dies 

 and a new, upright one replaces it. Planting 

 takes place preferably on the Day of St. John 

 (June 24) or the Day of Our Lady of Carmen 

 (July 16). An effort is made to plant before 

 dawn, when the moon is full, so that "large 

 racemes of fruit" will result. 



A novel technique is described whereby a shoot 

 of pldtano de Costilla will be converted into pld- 

 tano macho: 



If one has only pldtano de Castillo, and wishes to grow 

 pldtano macho, he prepares the hole for planting. But 

 instead of placing the head in it carefully, he stands well 

 back and tosses it into the hole. It is planted in what- 

 ever way it may fall, and when it grows, it is pldtano 

 macho. It produces larger fruit, but in less quantity. 



Almost every maize field has at least a few 

 banana or plantain trees, and some have them in 

 considerable quantity — interspersed with the corn, 

 or in a long row along the path or the edge of the 

 field. They are not planted in separate plots. 

 In about a year, the tree produces its first fruit 

 and may continue bearing as long as 15 years. 

 Local bananas and plantains seem surprisingly 

 free of disease. 



COTTON 



Native perennial cotton is grown occasionally 

 in the yard or in the maize field ; it does not occur 

 wild. Since culinary and medicinal uses are 

 minor, cotton is raised almost exclusively for its 

 fiber. However, weaving is on the decline in 

 Tajin ; less than a dozen women in the entire com- 

 munity know how to spin and weave, and they 

 find it less trouble to buy commercial thread. As 

 a consequence, there is virtually no interest in the 

 native cotton, and it is not unlikely that within 

 another decade the plant may disappear com- 

 pletely. 



In ancient times, the Gulf coast figured as an 

 important source of cotton and of cotton textiles. 

 Papantla and Tuxpan paid the bulk of their trib- 

 ute to the Mexican overlords in textiles of various 

 kinds (Coleccion de Mendoza 5:87), and in the 

 late sixteenth century, the Totonac of Papantla 

 dressed in cotton clothing (Relacion de Papantla) . 

 About this same time, an abundance of cotton was 

 reported for the Totonac of Misantla, where cot- 

 ton armor was manufactured exclusively as an ar- 



