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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



Figure 20. — Thatch, a, b, Palma redonda, entire leaf; c, palma real, cut to short lengths; d-f, palma real, split down 

 midrib, to form half leaf; g, h, grass; i-k, laurel {misanteca) ; I, transverse stick by which thatch is secured at crest of 

 roof. 



a. At each side, basal segments are split, but are not removed; sometimes they are twisted slightly. The base is placed against the exterior of the roof withe; 

 the split segments are passed upward and around the withe, then are brought to the outer surface and tied. On the interior (not shown), two strips (seg- 

 ments) of palm leaf cross the withe vertically. 



6. Similarly, basal segments are separated, but are not removed. They cross diagonally on the underside of the withe, then are carried to the exterior and tied. 

 The three sketches show the exterior at the start, followed by interior and exterior views, after the strips have been tied. 



c. Palma real is cut in short lengths which are lashed with liana to the roof withe. 



d. Detail of affixing split palma real with liana; for the sake of clarity, segments of the hilf leaves are not shown. The split leaf is applied directly to tho roof 

 poles, without the necessity of transverse withes; work direction is upward, not clockwise or counterclockwise, as in other types of thatch. 



e. Splicing split palma real; lashing as shown on larger scale in d. Note that base engages with tip and that the axis of the segments of the half leaves alternates. 

 / . The gable end, or short shed, of the roof, showing the poles to which split palma real leaves are lashed. At the lower and wider part of the shed, the half 



leaves are spliced, as indicated in e. Above, as the gable narrows, a single half leaf is sufficiently long, and no splicing is required. Note that each course 



of thatch is not affixed to every roof pole. 

 g, h. Two methods of affixing grass thatch with liana; exterior and interior views shown for each, 

 i, j. Two methods of applying misanteca thatch with liana; both arc exterior views. 

 k. Method of securing liana, with misanteca thatch, when a new length is required; view from above. 

 I. Short, pointed sticks thrust transversely through thatch at the crest of the roof. Liana is looped over these, in figurc-8 fashion, to secure the thatch at the 



crest. 



As each split leaf is tied in place, the worker forces it 

 downward with his feet, against the preceding course. 



Next, the long sheds are thatched. For a house of con- 

 siderable size, three or four men work simultaneously, on 

 the inner side of the roof. Again, the split palm is not 

 tied to all the roof poles ; each worker lashes the part in 

 front of him to the pole immediately to his right and to his 

 left. Accordingly, if there are three men working, each 

 half leaf is tied to six of the roof poles. Work proceeds 

 as before. If a midrib is particularly thick, it is notched 

 with the machete, so that the liana will clutch it firmly. 

 Splicing is done precisely and with great care (fig. 20, e). 



We are uncertain how the junctions of the four sheds are 

 made waterproof. Unfortunately we had no opportunity 

 of witnessing this type of thatch in construction, and the 

 account above is based on description, as well as on ob- 

 servation of completed roofs. 



From the interior, the finished roof of split palma real 

 has a pleasing aspect. One sees principally the narrow, 

 closely spaced, split midribs. The Totonac are perfectly 

 aware of its esthetic appeal and it is said that split palm 

 is favored because the inside roof is "handsome." 



It is worth pointing out several aspects in which the 

 technique of applying split palm varies from the more 



