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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



sionally, a house post needs replacing. The im- 

 mediately adjacent wall is removed and an excava- 

 tion made at the base of the post. In the one case 

 observed, that of a side post, no effort was made 

 to provide a temporary support for the beam. 

 The excavation was opened sufficiently for the post 

 to be lifted out. Then the hole was deepened and 

 the bottom tamped with heavy sticks. Next, the 

 distance from the base of the pit to the beam was 

 measured and the new post cut to size. It was 

 set in place and pounded to engage properly with 

 the beam. Without further ado, the pit was filled 

 and the wall replaced. 



Mice and insects make inroads in thatch, and, 

 from time to time, parts of the roofing are re- 

 placed (pi. 12, d) ; well-smoked thatch is less 

 subject to such damage. Sometimes tepehua ants 

 descend on a house in a body; they are allowed 

 free entry, for they rid a roof of animal pests, in- 

 cluding mice. The first act of a person who moves 

 into an untenanted house is to build a fire of corn- 

 husks, so that the resulting smudge may cause 

 scorpions, snakes, and other animal life to with- 

 draw. 



The floor usually is surfaced with light-colored, 

 calcareous subsoil, and after constant sweeping, it 

 becomes uneven. Brooms are made by tying a 

 bunch of small green branches or a sheaf of sor- 

 ghum heads (No. 103) to a pole. Some house- 

 wives collect the rubbish in a large, shallow 

 gourd ; one uses an old metal shovel as a dustpan. 

 In any case, in the course of time, the floor de- 

 velops holes. It then is well sprinkled with water 

 and allowed to dry ; this is repeated several times, 

 until the surface is more or less even. Major dis- 

 parities are smoothed out with the hand. 



FURNISHINGS 



The Totonac home contains a very modest as- 

 sortment of furnishings. As a rule, kitchen equip- 

 ment includes a raised hearth, a series of bamboo 

 or plank shelves for storing dishes, cooking uten- 

 sils, and water jars, as well as one or more hang- 

 ing frames on which food is kept. Every house 

 has at least one milling stone or metate, which 

 usually occupies a special table or frame; in the 

 more prosperous homes, a commercial hand mill 

 is affixed atop a post set into the ground. Occa- 

 sionally, a dome-shaped oven forms part of the 

 equipment, but this often is outside and invari- 



ably is used only on very special occasions. A 

 few chairs or stools and a table complete kitchen 

 furnishings. 



Other household furniture may include a plat- 

 form bed of split bamboo, a wooden box or a trunk 

 for the storage of clothing and oddments, and, in 

 most houses, a family shrine or altar. 



HEARTH 



The bulk of the cooking generally is done on a 

 hearth (hrasero), which is a platform of con- 

 venient height, built against one of the walls, or in 

 a corner. However, nixtamal and atole commonly 

 are prepared over a fire built directly on the house 

 floor, the container supported by three inverted 

 pots, which serve as firedogs. Both these foods 

 usually are prepared in quantity and are contained 

 in great pottery jars which would be troublesome 

 to lift on and off a platform; moreover, if they 

 were accommodated on the latter, there would be 

 scant room for other cooking. 



There is considerable variation in the hearth 

 platform. Often the frame consists of four sub- 

 stantial posts set into the ground, notched at the 

 top to receive two transverse poles, which are 

 lashed in place with liana (fig. 25, a). Across 

 these, a series of closely spaced, lighter poles or 

 bamboo stalks is laid. On top, there may be still 

 another layer, running in the opposite direction. 

 A variant platform is built diagonally across the 

 comer of the room and is supported by three in- 

 stead of four posts. The upper surface of the plat- 

 form, and sometimes the sides, are coated with mud 

 plaster, prepared from calcareous subsoil (pi. 

 14, a) . In one case, the top has only a thin layer 

 of earth and ash to make it fireproof. Firewood is 

 stored in the space beneath the platform. 



Not infrequently the hearth platform is solid. 

 Uprights are set into the ground, and against them 

 a wall is constructed of closely spaced saplings or 

 bamboos. These may run horizontally (fig. 25, e) 

 or vertically (pi. 14, d; fig. 25, d). The zone en- 

 closed by the fence is filled flush with earth and 

 stones and the top plastered with mud. Usually, 

 if not always, the solid type platform is built in 

 a corner of the room and is bounded on two sides 

 by the house Avail. 



If the top of the platform is left plane, the fire 

 is built directly on it, and each cooking vessel is 

 supported by three inverted pots; seldom are 



