THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



145 



tide of commerce (Relacion de Misantla) ; and, 

 according to various relatione,? geogrdficas, the 

 Totonac of Jojupango, "Matlatlan," Chila, and 

 Hueytlalpan all produced an excess of cotton 

 which they sold to buyers from other zones. 



Hueytlalpan is said to have planted and har- 

 vested cotton only every other year, which does not 

 imply a perennial variety ; Jojupango, on the con- 

 trary, is said to have had fiber available annually. 

 As an aside, it may be noted that the sixteenth- 

 century Maya are credited with a small annual 

 form, as well as with a large shrub which endured 

 5 or 6 years (Landa, p. 246). 



At Tajin, most informants recognize two kinds 

 of cotton — a white and a brown lint, 66 with the 

 former preferred. A few seeds may be planted 

 the Day of the Holy Cross (May 3) , and "it is not 

 long before they produce." 



Five lots of cotton seed from Tajin were sent 

 Dr. J. B. Hutchinson, of which only two germi- 

 nated, both of white lint. One specimen he re- 

 ports to be "fairly typical Gossypium hirsutum 

 var. punctatum, of the Gulf of Mexico race. 67 

 Staple about 1 inch, poor quality." Dr. Hutch- 

 inson adds that this cotton is "fairly typical of 

 the cottons of the Mayas" and that it is "the domi- 

 nant cotton of Yucatan, Campeche, the Peten re- 

 gion of Guatemala, and British Honduras. It is 

 also the perennial cotton of Florida and the Baha- 

 mas, and is believed to extend round the shores of 

 the Gulf of Mexico from Honduras to Florida." 



The other specimen is "an aberrant member of 

 G. hirsutum proper, nearest G. hirsutum 'Up- 

 land,' but with quite extraordinary development 

 of vegetative branches. Staple about 1 inch, poor 

 quality." Dr. Hutchinson adds that this is a 

 "unique type in my experience ... in a class to 

 itself." 



In addition, a number of pressed specimens of 

 leaf and flower were submitted to Dr. Moore. Of 

 this lot, four (No. 8) are G. hirsutum L. ; and four 



m Similarly, the Popoluca, to the south, have a white and a 

 brown lint cotton ; the later is known as criollo, or native 

 (Foster, 1942 b, p. 19). 



In Tancanhuitz, in the Huasteca, we were told that only the 

 Indians grow a brown lint cotton. In the mestizo town of 

 Tancanhuitz, we saw only one perennial, white lint shrub, but 

 the seed is said to have been brought from Axtla, also in San Luis 

 Potosf. Farther south, in Tamazunchale, there are several plants 

 of white lint perennial cotton. 



87 The distribution of the various cottons mentioned in this 

 section will be found in Hutchinson, Silow, and Stephens, figures 

 9, 10. 



more (No. 9) are G. hirsutum L., var. punctatum 

 (Schumacher) J. B. Hutchinson. However, a 

 lone specimen (No. 43) has been identified as G. 

 barbadense L., a cotton found chiefly in South 

 America and the West Indies. 



In short, one of our local cottons (G. hirsutum 

 var. punctatum) is within its normal range; and 

 another (G. hirsutum "Upland") is probably a 

 more recent arrival in the area. The third cotton 

 (G. barbadense L.) is, however, definitely intru- 

 sive, and its presence among the Totonac presum- 

 ably implies contact, direct or otherwise, either 

 with the Caribbean or with Central or South 

 America. 



GRASSES 



Several grasses are grown in Tajin, for thatch, 

 for animal food, or for both. 



Zacate Colorado (Imperata contracta (H. B. K.) 

 Hitchc, No. 275) is useful for thatch but cannot 

 be used as fodder "because it is very dry." It is 

 said to reproduce through runners. A few plants 

 may be stuck in an unoccupied corner of the maize 

 field, and 10 yield sufficient grass to thatch a dwell- 

 ing. One informant speaks of zacate Colorado 

 as thatch, but considers it not cultivated. Others 

 distinguish between zacate Colorado and another 

 species known as zacate de venado (No. 288) ; the 

 latter "looks like zacate Colorado but is not; it 

 is not good for anything ; it may come out in a mil- 

 pa and ruin it." 



Two other grasses, zacate parol (Panicum pwr- 

 pwro^cens Raddi, No. 243) and zacate guinea 

 (Panicum maximum Jacq., No. 245) are grown 

 for fodder. The latter, either green or dry, also 

 is used for thatch. Both are introduced, and in- 

 formants know, at least, that the zacate paral is 

 intrusive. The latter is said to produce seed 

 "which does not grow"; seed of the guinea may 

 be planted, "but it takes a long time to grow." 

 Sometimes a few plants are placed in rows in the 

 milpa ; "two or three months later fodder is cut.'* 



Still another grass, zacate fino (Cynodon dac- 

 tylon (L.) Pers., No. 351) is grown from seed, in 

 the house clearing, so that fowl may eat the seeds. 



Sometimes a bit of sorghum (Sorghum, vulgare 

 Pers., No. 103) seed is tossed into the milpa. The 

 plant, with the seeds removed, is tied in bundles, 

 to serve as brooms. 



The large bamboo (tarro, Guudua aculeata 

 Rupr., No. 180) grows luxuriantly along arroyos 



