

THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALE«M 



183 



usual thatching method : (a) no withes are required ; (o) 

 the palm is tied directly to the roof poles ; (c) the axis of 

 the leaf is horizontal, not vertical; (d) work direction is 

 upward, not clockwise or counterclockwise ; (e) men work 

 on the inside of the roof frame, not on the outside ; (/) 

 careful splicing is involved; (g) gable ends are thatched 

 prior to the long sheds. 



Grass. — Two kinds of grass, zacate Colorado and zacate 

 guinea (Nos. 275, 245) often are used as thatch ; the for- 

 mer is the more durable. Both are handled the same way, 

 and it is said that the dry leaf of sugarcane may be simi- 

 larly treated. We have observed no roof of cane leaves 

 and believe its use to be infrequent. 



Grass generally is tied in small bunches (pi. 11, o), so 

 that it may be handled more easily. A small bundle is 

 arranged, with the roots together, and the lot is wrapped, 

 near the root, with a length of the same grass. Sometimes, 

 however, grass thatch is applied without being prepared 

 previously in bunches. 



As usual — except when split palma real is involved — 

 the workmen are on the exterior of the roof frame and 

 tie thatch to every alternate withe. Two lashings are 

 shown in figure 20, g, h. Basically, they are similar. One, 

 however, has a double diagonal wrapping ; and it appears 

 that one sketch represents a section made when the work 

 was proceeding clockwise ; the other, counterclockwise. 



Misanteca (No. 169). — This is a laurel which, as roofing, 

 lasts about as long as does palma real. It is generally 

 said that the leaf roof is "very fresh," that is, cool in hot 

 weather. However, this thatch is little used today because 

 the tree has become scarce ; moreover, "not everyone knows 

 how to make a misanteca roof that will not leak." 



The cost is considerably less than that of palma real. 

 In one case, a parcel owner, for the sum of $15.00 pesos, 

 permitted the cutting of sufficient misanteca to roof a 

 house 10 varas long. (However, the purchaser confided in 

 us that he had basely represented the house as of 9 instead 

 of 10 varas.) Preliminaries were somewhat protracted: 

 5 man-days were spent in cutting the necessary sprays, 

 plus 2 more in hauling the material to the house site. 



As the sprays are cut, they are piled on the ground care- 

 fully, with all the stems heading the same way, and with 

 the rough undersurface of the leaves downward. Some- 

 thing heavy, such as odd house beams, is laid on top of 

 the piles, as a press. Misanteca must be used within sev- 

 eral days after it has been cut, or the leaves shed. 



The pressed sprays are collected in large bundles and 

 are trundled to the house on the back, with the aid of a 

 head tump. They are laid on the floor of the house and, as 

 needed, are hoisted to the temporary platform laid across 

 the beams. Great care is taken that the piles be neatly 

 arranged, with all the stems in the same direction and, 

 this time, with the shiny surface of the leaf downward. 



As usual, the men who thatch are stationed on the 

 outside of the roof frame (pi. 11, d, f). One remains in- 

 side, on the platform on top of the beams, to pass the 

 material to his companions. He hands the several sprays, 

 stems first, between the poles and withes of the frame. 

 Misanteca is not tied in individual bunches as is grass; 

 two to eight individual sprays are applied at a time, 



according to the thickness of the stem. As usual, misan- 

 teca is affixed to every alternate withe, with liana. 



The thatcher clutches the several sprays in his right 

 hand, the liana in his left. He places the sheaf against 

 the outside of the withe, with the shiny surface of the 

 leaves downward ; otherwise the leaves shed. He secures 

 the bundle with liana (fig. 20, i, j), pulls the latter taut, 

 and catches it temporarily between the stems of the sheaf, 

 so that it will not loosen before the next lot is forthcoming. 

 At the time we watched thatching with misanteca, the 

 men were working counterclockwise ; we neglected to ask 

 if direction changed with succeeding courses of thatch. 



Inspection of a finished house gives little indica- 

 tion how the problem of thatching the ridge is 

 handled. Unfortunately, we did not have oppor- 

 tunity to witness this particular stage of construc- 

 tion. It is said that "years ago, many houses were 

 thatched with grass." Extra layers were added at 

 the ridge and each was braided with the preceding 

 course. As many as 12 or 15 layers were added, 

 and the completed roof "had braids each side of 

 the ridge." This form of braiding is called 

 takstitkonsi^a. It no longer is current in Tajin 

 but presumably resembles the ridge treatment still 

 to be seen in parts of the old Huasteca. 



About all we can say concerning roof finish is 

 that the thatch is applied heavily along the crest, 

 following which several short, sharpened poles are 

 thrust through transversely, at spaced intervals, 

 just beneath the ridge (fig. 20, I) . Liana is looped 

 over these sticks, from one shed to another, to hold 

 the top thatch in place. 15 This finish now is 

 applied to all thatched roofs, including those of 

 grass, but was not required for the older braided 

 grass crest. 



WALLS 



The wall (cerca, fence) of the native house 

 consists of contiguous uprights of bamboo or sap- 

 lings. The former is preferred because the stalks 

 are relatively straight, whereas the latter often 

 are crooked and difficult to aline. Occasionally, 

 a wall is made of split rails. 



The local supply of bamboo (tarro, No. 180) is 

 rapidly diminishing. There still are some hand- 

 some stands in Tajin, but families near the fwndo 

 legal, who need bamboo in quantity, seem to buy 

 chiefly in adjacent Tlahuanapa. The cane is cut 



10 Near Tamazunchale, S. L. P., we noted one roof similarly 

 treated. There, however, it is more common to use a grass thatch 

 which is braided at the crest. It also is common to invert heavy- 

 forked sticks over the ridge to hold the thatch in place. 



