THE TAJIN TOTONAC— PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



195 



MISCELLANEOUS KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



The larger items of kitchen furnishings — 

 hearth, shelves or frames, hanging frames, tables, 

 chairs, and benches — have been mentioned above. 

 Naturally, the last three are not confined to the 

 kitchen, but also are used in the living room, and 

 occasionally in the bedroom. 



Pottery appears in profusion in every kitchen. 

 Most of it is home-made, but almost every estab- 

 lishment has at least one glazed bowl, for frying 

 food, and one glazed water jar, both imports from 

 the highlands. Pottery is discussed elsewhere 

 (pp. 212-220) , as are gourd utensils, stirring sticks, 

 and wooden trays (pp. 209-212). Recent innova- 

 tions — the metal maize mill and the kerosene 

 lamp — likewise receive separate attention (pp. 

 198-199). 



Wooden spoons, bought from vendors from the 

 highlands, or from tradesmen in Papantla, are 

 used in most households, in the preparation of 

 food. In addition, every kitchen has a knife or 

 so, to supplement the machete ; table cutlery is al- 

 most unknown (p. 172). Some families eat food 

 from heavy, commercial crockery ; others use en- 

 ameled ware; children commonly are fed from 

 plates or bowls of home-made pottery. 



In addition, every house has at least one stone 

 metate, sometimes three, rarely more. These are 

 of black basalt; a representative specimen meas- 

 ures about 75 cm. in length and 45 in width. In- 

 variably the metate is tripod; when in use, the 

 single foot at the rear rests in the cavity of a 

 bamboo, which is set upright in the floor, against 

 the grinding table (pi. 13, a). The three legs 

 are of about the same height, but owing to the 

 bamboo rest, the grinding surface is considerably 

 inclined. 



Some metates are coarse-grained ; others notice- 

 ably finer. Two women insist that there is no 

 difference whatsoever in function ; both serve 

 either to break the nixtamal or to reduce it to a 

 fine paste. However, in the house of Pablo Gon- 

 zalez, one metate is reserved for rough grinding ; 

 thereafter the dough is passed to one of the milling 

 stones next in line, where it is reground. In a 

 home which has no metal mill, dough for tortillas 

 is prepared exclusively on the metate, being 

 ground several times in order that it be sufficiently 

 fine. But if there is a metal mill, the preliminary 

 grinding takes place in it; invariably, the maize is 



further ground on the metate. When not in use, 

 the milling stone is washed and stood upright on 

 the grinding table, against the wall of the house. 



The mano, or handstone, varies considerably. 

 Some are the same width as the metate; others, 

 with tapering ends, overhang a few centimeters on 

 either side. Often, through use, the handstone is 

 four-faceted. 



Metates and manos are not of local manufac- 

 ture. Those considered best come from the high- 

 lands and are purchased from vendors from the 

 San Andres area. These utensils are, however, 

 excessively expensive. About 8 years ago, one 

 could be purchased for $10 or $12 pesos ; now $50 

 or even $60 is the asking price. Since a metate 

 from the highlands is a lifetime investment, the 

 Totonac are willing to pay a considerable sum. 



Metates of similar form, reputedly from nearby 

 Tihuatlan, are sold in Papantla stores, the price 

 ranging from $12.00 to $20.00 pesos, according to 

 size. However, the stone is soft, and there is little 

 demand for these utensils. Occasionally, a mill- 

 ing stone found archeologically is put to use; if 

 the handstone is lacking, a modern one is pecked 

 until size and shape accord. In plate 13, a the 

 metate on the left is from the highlands, but the 

 other two are archeological. 



Upon special occasions, chocolate is drunk, and 

 as is usual in Mexico, it is beaten until it froths ; 

 in fact, in Tajin, sometimes only the foam is 

 served. The wooden beater so commonly used in 

 Mexico occasionally is seen locally ; it consists of a 

 staff, with an enlarged knob at the end, above 

 which are one or two loose wooden rings. 



However, the home-made beater is much more 

 common. It is an ingenious device, twirled be- 

 tween the palms of the hands (pi. 20, a). There 

 are two kinds, both with the same name {molinillo, 

 islimapupikan). 



One is made from a thin wooden wand, trimmed neatly, 

 and split at one tip by two lengthwise cuts, at right angles 

 to one another. Into these, strips of corn husk are placed, 

 alternately, in opposing directions. The liusk is forced 

 into the slits until the latter are filled solidly, following 

 which the tip is tied with a narrow strip of the hark of 

 jonote bianco (No. 25). The bark first is tied about the 

 tip of the split wand ; the ends are passed to the opposing 

 side and are retied ; thence back to the first side, again 

 to be tied. One strand now is wrapped clockwise about 

 the split, passing between the strips of husk ; the other 

 is wrapped counterclockwise. At the base of the slit, 

 the bark strips once more are tied together. The husk is 

 trimmed, and an effective beater awaits use (fig. 29, a). 





