THE TAJIN TOTONAC — PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



189 



varas long, with good posts, beams, and tiles, was 

 offered for sale at $900 pesos (the land on which it 

 stood was not included). There were no takers, 

 and the price was reduced to $600 pesos. At this 

 point there was a tentative nibble, but a member 

 of the family, who allegedly had a claim on the 



cintas (fig. 23, d, i), $21 pesos for planks. Price 

 varies somewhat according to the wood; alza- 

 pnma, for example, is more difficult to work than 

 is cedar, and the charge consequently is higher, 

 Irrespective of the type of structure, today, at 

 least, there are no ceremonial observances asso- 



Figtjre 24. — House with tiled roof, bamboo walls. Framing details of similar house shown in figure 23, a-d. Adapted 



from a field sketch by Angel Palerm. 



a, Elevation, side wall, north-south, a, Comer posts, squared (esqvinero, fig. 23, a-c), set in ground, b, Supplementary posts (horc6n, fig. 23, a-c). c, Mother 

 beam (viga moire, fig. 23, a-d), resting in clefts cut in upper surface of a. d. Beams (viga, fig. 23, a-d), laid transversely on c. e, Timber (solera, fig. 23, a-d), 

 laid across d. f, Roof timbers (alfarda, fig. 23, d), resting on e. g, Light poles, tied with liana to house posts, h, Split bamboo, lashed to g, to form house 

 walls, i, Open space above door; in some houses covered with poles, bamboo, or planks, j, Door of split bamboo, k, Stones on which wall bamboos rest. 



6, Elevation, gable end, east-west. See preceding key. 1, Light planks, used to cover triangular area formed by gable, m. Tiles. 



c, d, Details of roofing, n, Transverse roof timbers (cinia, fig. 23, d). o, Layer of mud plaster. 



structure through inheritance, brought pressure to 

 bear, and the house was withdrawn from the 

 market. 



Ordinarily, a professional sawyer is required 

 to prepare the timbers, although some builders 

 inexpertly trim the posts with an ax. In addi- 

 tion to his food, a sawyer charges by the piece or 

 by the dozen for his labor. In one case, the price 

 was $45 pesos a dozen for beams, $6 pesos for roof 



ciated with house building. It is said that for- 

 merly a silver coin of one peso was dropped into 

 the excavation at each corner, before the post was 

 set in place. 



UPKEEP 



A house with a tiled roof requires relatively 

 little repair, although if it has bamboo walls, they 

 must be replaced every twenty-odd years. Occa- 



