THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



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posts. The loosened earth is removed with the 

 hands. The posts then are stood in the holes, 

 about a third the length of each going below 

 ground. Ordinarily, for the thatched house, 

 neither posts nor beams is squared; sometimes, 

 squared posts are combined with untrimmed 

 beams. 



Next, the two principal beams, known as the 

 mother beams (vigas madres; fig. 19, a-/, No. 3) 

 are set in notches which have been cut in the posts, 

 and are lashed in place with liana. At each end 

 of the house, a cross beam is tied on top of the 

 mother beams (fig. 19, a-d, /, No. 4). 



One of the men now climbs on top of the frame. 

 With a stone tied to a string, he tests the posts, 

 to be sure that they are vertical. They are shifted 

 as necessary, following which earth and small 

 stones are packed about the base ; the fill is tamped 

 with a substantial stick, whose butt has been 

 smoothed. Immediately thereafter, the remain- 

 ing cross beams (fig. 19, a, No. 4) are lashed 

 to the mother beams, each a vara from its neighbor. 

 (The length of any Totonac house is evident by 

 counting the transverse beams exposed on the 

 interior.) Once all the cross beams are in place, 

 an additional longitudinal beam is placed in the 

 center, on top of them ; it runs the full length of 

 the frame, parallel to the mother beams (fig. 19, 

 a, No. 5). 



The roof frame is added next. Four poles, of 

 durable wood, but lighter weight than the beams, 

 are notched near the butt to engage with the 

 mother beams (fig. 19, e). Their tips are crossed 

 and lashed together, with a small reinforc- 

 ing stick (fig. 19, d, No. 10) on the under side of 

 the juncture. Poles so tied have the form of a 

 double, inverted V and, because they have consid- 

 erable play, are known as scissors (tijeras). One 

 set of scissors, each of four crossed poles, is pre- 

 pared for each end of the house (fig. 19, e, No. G). 

 If the building is small, one more set for the 

 middle suffices ; if the house is long, several inter- 

 mediate ones are necessary. 



The scissors are tied on the ground and the 

 inverted V stood against the end of the structure. 

 Two men climb to the terminal cross beam, against 

 which the scissors rest. They alone, or with the 

 assistance of others, raise the inverted V, and shift 

 the four poles until the notches engage with the 



mother beam. Next, they incline the scissors 

 toward the center of the house, to form a some- 

 what sloping gable, or short shed. When the 

 scissors are in place, the butts of the four com- 

 ponent poles are lashed to the mother beams. 



With the two end scissors and the one or more 

 intermediate sets securely in place, the ridge pole is 

 hoisted so that it comes to rest in the angle formed 

 at the summit by the crossed poles (fig. 19, d, e. No. 

 7). Supplementary roof poles (fig. 19, d, No. 8) 

 are laid between the scissors. They run from 

 the ridge to the mother beam, their butts notched 

 to engage with the latter. Light saplings, known 

 as canaduras (sic), are tied vertically across the 

 gable end (fig. 19, /, No. 12) . 



The next step is to reinforce the roof frame. A 

 pole, light in weight but rigid and durable, is 

 lashed the fidl length of each long shed, on the 

 inner side of the scissors and supplementary poles. 

 Sometimes there are two such reinforcements 

 (pi. 10, d; fig. 19, d, e, No. 9) . Transverse struts 

 (pi. 10, // fig. 19, e) connect the opposing poles, but 

 if there are two sets, ordinarily they connect only 

 the upper ones. Undoubtedly, the struts add to 

 the stability of the frame, but they are regarded 

 chiefly as supports for a temporary floor on which 

 the thatching material is later placed, as the roof- 

 ing approaches the ridge. 



A supplementary beam, which supports no 

 weight, but which holds the butts of the scissors 

 and other roof poles against the mother beam, is 

 lashed on the outside of the latter (pi. 10, e; fig. 

 19, d-f, No. 11) . A similar secondary beam is tied 

 on the outside of each of the two terminal cross 

 beams, on top of the vertical poles of the gable end 

 (fig. 19, /, No. 11 ) . These additions not only make 

 the roof frame more stable, but they result in 

 small-scale eaves on all sides of the house. Pre- 

 sumably for this reason, this secondary beam is 

 called carga-sacate (carry grass). 



The last step in preparing the roof frame is to 

 add a series of horizontal, flexible withes (lokoyo, 

 huiles; pis. 10, e, 11, a), to which the thatch is to 

 be tied. Generally, three men climb to the top of 

 one of the long sheds; one is stationed at either 

 end, and the third, in the middle. To thorn, the 

 withes are passed and, starting at the top, they tie 

 them to the scissors and intervening roof poles. 

 Long, loose ends extend outward at either side of 



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