202 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



the face of the trench, which forms the lower wall, 

 has been lined with horizontal poles, to prevent 

 collapse. 



Entirely superficial structures generally are of 

 rough masonry — stones or slabs, set in mud mor- 

 tar (8 cases). One chamber has the front and 

 back walls of stone, the side walls of upright 

 planks. Another (pi. 16, d) has masonry only at 

 the rear, while the front wall is formed by upright 

 poles and bamboo, mud-plastered; the side walls 

 are of heavy poles, laid horizontally, and held in 

 place by two vertical posts at each corner. 



Some sweathouses have a forked post at each 

 corner, which supports framing poles; usually, 



10 



rx 



4- 



£ 



11 



Figure 34. — Furniture arrangement in single house of 

 several rooms. A partition divides the main room into 

 bedroom and kitchen. 1, wooden plank shelf, extending 

 full width of room, above bed (2); 2, platform bed; 

 3, wooden box; 4, table; 5, grinding table; 6, hearth on 

 floor, for nixtamal; 7, raised hearth; 8, bench; 9, shelves; 

 10, storage space, vacant at the moment; used as sleep- 

 ing quarters when roof of main rooms leak; 11, maize 

 crib, sometimes used as pen for hogs. 



this is not necessary if the walls are of stone. The 

 doorway sometimes is framed by a forked post at 

 either side, in the crotches of which a lintel rests 

 (pi. 16, l>) . As a rule, the entrance is in the center 

 front, but in two chambers it adjoins a side wall. 

 Orientation is not consistent. Half the structures 

 have the entrance to the south; others vary, but 

 northwest and southeast are not represented. 

 When the chamber is in use, a blanket or woven 

 mat is hung over the doorway. 



Regardless of wall construction, the roof ordi- 

 narily is flat (20 cases) ; one is gabled (pi. 16, &') ; 

 another is in the course of construction and the 

 roof form not evident ; and for three, no note was 

 made. If there are forked posts at the corners, 

 a transverse beam is laid in their crotches, along 



the top of each side wall. In many cases, how- 

 ever, the beam is laid directly on top of each side 

 wall. Resting on these beams, and running at 

 right angles, are closely spaced poles (in one in- 

 stance, bamboos). The poles are covered with a 

 layer of grass or of leaves — palm, banana, laurel, 

 misanteca (No. 169), pimienta (No. 30), estribillo 

 (No. 61) , palo de rosa (No. 171) . The final layer 

 is either mud or earth, sometimes so heaped as to 

 give a slightly convex contour (pi. 16, e). 



A floor of loose planks, of planks and bamboo, 

 of bamboo alone, or of poles, rests on a transverse 

 beam laid directly on the ground, at the base of 

 each side wall; accordingly, the wooden floor is 

 raised a few centimeters. 



Interior furnishings of the sweathouse are 

 simple. The hearth, generally at floor level, con- 

 sists of a series of stones so arranged that a fire 

 may be built beneath. Ordinarily, the stones are 

 supported by a couple of sizable slabs, leaned di- 

 agonally against one another to form a gable- 

 shaped cavity for the fire ; in plate 16, e, the slabs 

 apparently have fallen. When the chamber is 

 subterranean, the hearth may be inset somewhat 

 into the earth wall. A fire is maintained for a 

 couple of hours before the bath is to be used. By 

 the end of that time, the stones are well heated and 

 vapor is produced by dashing cold water on them, 

 using half a calabash shell as a dipper. During 

 this process, the mouth of the hearth is closed by 

 a large sherd, so that water does not fall directly 

 on the coals. Apart from the hearth, sweathouse 

 equipment includes several calabash dippers and 

 one or two clay pots for the water (pi. 16, c). 

 Strewn on the floor are sprays of various plants 

 (Nos. 2, 30, 32, 61, 68, 97, 159, 205, 207, 318) with 

 which the body is whipped lightly during the bath. 



OUTHOUSE 



The outhouse is extremely rare and is confined 

 to the fundo legal. The new school is provided 

 with a casually built plank structure, allegedly an 

 outhouse, but apparently not used. We know of 

 only three others (map 7, lot Nos. 19, 21, 52) — 

 one at the establishment of a non-Totonac mer- 

 chant, who is a local resident; and the two others 

 among Totonac families above average in sophisti- 

 cation and town contacts. In nowise can any of 

 the structures be considered adequate or hygienic 

 and, to all intents and purposes, Taj in is com- 

 pletely wanting in sanitary facilities. 



