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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



rately. Infrequently, walls are decorated with 

 illustrations cut from old magazines. 



Aside from these ornaments, interior decoration 

 is concentrated on the domestic shrine. As an al- 

 tar, almost every house has either a table or planks 

 resting on a trestle. The top and sides are covered 

 with cotton cloth — sometimes in plain colors, some- 

 times printed. On top of the table are arranged the 

 images of various Christian saints, usually chro- 

 mos, but occasionally 3-dimensional images, the 

 latter purchased principally from vendors who 

 come from the Sierra de Puebla. Images sit in 

 deep, highly varnished cedar "niches" or frames, 

 made to order locally or in Papantla. The frames 

 are glassed and may be ornamented with ribbons 

 and artificial flowers. A vase or two of flowers — 

 often well desiccated — likewise adorn the altar, 

 and generally there are one or two home-made 

 incense burners and candlesticks. In daily prac- 

 tice, the altar is a convenient spot on which to 

 place odd paraphernalia — perhaps a bit of sewing, 

 a gourd, turkey eggs, stumps of candles, medi- 

 cines, and empty bottles. Usually, the entire as- 

 sortment is covered with a fine patina of dust. 



The tempting space beneath the altar does not go 

 to waste. In it may be cached extra dishes, 

 old bottles both empty and full, the season's sup- 

 ply of wild chili, cut lumber for chairs, a defunct 

 sadiron, a scale for weighing vanilla, odd bits of 

 wire, and assorted stone idols which have been col- 

 lected in the fields. This medley is hidden from 

 public view by the altar cloth. In one remote 

 household, the space beneath the table must have 

 been relatively clear, for the hostess, alarmed at 

 our approach, took refuge there. 



At the rear of the altar is the house wall, often 

 covered by a cloth. On the three remaining sides, 

 the altar is crowned by a canopy. A post is set in 

 the ground at each corner of the table and, above, 

 is tied to the rafters. A pliable sapling is arched 

 and lashed to the two front posts, with another 

 on each side (pi. 15, &). Colored tissue paper is 

 pasted in panels to cover the area above the arch. 

 Sometimes there are two layers of tissue paper, in 

 contrasting color, the uppermost with an elaborate 

 cut-out design. Commercial patterns are used, 

 and motifs range from standard religious symbols 

 to the Mexican eagle and a Plains Indian warrior 

 with full headgear. In many cases, considerable 

 ingenuity and taste are shown in altar decorations. 



For special occasions the altar is elaborately 

 ornamented with green sprays and woven palm 

 "stars" (pi. 15, a) into which flowers are stuck. 



MODERN INNOVATIONS 



Of modern equipment, a kerosene lamp is the 

 most frequent. It will be mentioned in greater 

 detail in the succeeding section. 



Next in frequency comes the metal mill for 

 grinding maize. It resembles one of our metal 

 meat choppers, but is somewhat larger and heavier. 

 Of our 39 families of the census, 23 have metal 

 mills for corn. A substantial post is sunk verti- 

 cally into the kitchen floor, and a small square or 

 rectangular board is nailed to its upper end, which 

 has been trimmed flat ; to the board is affixed the 

 mill. A container, in which the ground corn is 

 caught sits likewise on the board. 



Clocks — usually cheap alarm clocks — are owned 

 by 6 of our 39 families, accounting for a total 

 of 8 timepieces. By no means all of them func- 

 tion; several Ave know to be archaic and out 

 of order. Except for these privately owned 

 clocks, Tajin has no precise way of measuring 

 time. The school has no clock, and the teacher 

 rings the bell at any moment convenient to her; 

 the timing is not sufficiently accurate to serve as 

 a measure for the families of the fundo legal. 



Sewing machines are about as plentiful as clocks. 

 and there is a total of 8 among our 39 families 

 of the census. Three, incidentally, are owned by 

 families which also boast a clock. Sewing ma- 

 chines, like most of the clocks, are rather ancient 

 treadle models, apparently purchased in the days 

 when vanilla was sold at a good price. Every 

 woman who has access to a sewing machine is a 

 professional seamstress, on a very modest scale. 

 For a few cents, she will oblige a neighbor by run- 

 ning up a seam for her, or she will make a garment 

 outright. Accordingly, every family possessed of 

 a machine realizes a few pesos a year from its use. 



We know of only one family which has a port- 

 able phonograph and only one with a radio. The 

 latter runs on batteries and, as far as we know, is 

 little used. Needless to say, it belongs to a house- 

 hold with strong city ties. 



ILLUMINATION 



There are traditions of ancient forms of illumi- 

 nation. The native bee seals the openings of its 



