206 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



Legend to map 9 — Continued 



Against the north wall, just east of the door, is another long cedar bench (6). Above the latter, and crossing it diago- 

 nally, is a pole suspended from the rafters. On this, clothing is hung, for, owing to the humidity, it cannot be left long in 

 storage. 



Just south of the bench (6) stands a bass viol (7), in its case. The profusion of instruments makes it scarcely necessary 

 to explain that Don Pablo is a musician. 



In the northeast corner of the room, a chest of cedar (8) rests on a trestle of slats, supported by four forked sticks set 

 in the ground. A nineteenth-century trunk (9) reposes on a similar frame, in the southeast corner of the room. Beneath 

 it is a defunct charcoal iron; upon another occasion (pi. 15, b), a wooden tray leans against the trestle. The chest and 

 trunks are used for storage of clothing, finery, land titles, and so on. 



The dominant piece of furniture against the east wall is the family altar (10) (pi. 15, b). It consists of a crude table 

 of planks, resting on squared cedar uprights, and covered by a cotton cloth, printed in a red and blue all-over design. On 

 top of the table are placed three low boxes, the flanking ones covered with white cotton cloth, the center one, with red. The 

 latter also bears two small bunches of artificial flowers. Each box supports the image of a saint and raises it slightly above 

 table height. The northernmost one holds a print of the Virgin of Guadalupe; the center one, a print of the Sacred Heart 

 of Jesus; and the southernmost box, a three-dimensional figure of St. Anthony. All these images are housed in cedar 

 shadow boxes, highly varnished. 



On the main altar table, and leaning against each of the three boxes, are three framed images of the Virgin of Gua- 

 dalupe. Four bouquets of mixed garden flowers, mostly mock orange, also adorn the main table. Beneath the latter, and 

 hidden from public view by the cloth covering, are stored old bottles, both empty and full, extra dishes, and a great assort- 

 ment of domestic equipment, mostly demised, and none of it in active use. 



As usual, the altar is framed by a canopy. Four squared uprights are set in the ground, one at each corner of the table; 

 their tops are tied to the rafters. Across the front, and at either side, a pliable sapling is bent to form an arch and each 

 end is tied to one of the corner posts. Panels of colored tissue paper cover the area above the arch, and further decoration 

 is supplied by metallic paper ornaments pasted to the tissue paper. A cut-out paper border covers the sapling, and a large 

 paper bow conceals its junction with the posts. Immediately behind the altar, the wall is covered with a cloth; and, at 

 each side, behind the flanking chests, lurid motion picture posters adorn the wall. 



In front of the altar, and somewhat to the south, stands a round pedestal table (11). Its top is attached to a squared 

 cedar post, to each side of which a small cedar slat has been nailed, to serve as a foot (pi. 15, b). The table bears a vase 

 of garden flowers, a home-made pottery candlestick, a tree gourd containing copal incense, and a commercial veladora 

 (vigil light). On the floor, beneath the table, is another charcoal iron, and to one side (not numbered in sketch), a home- 

 made incense burner. Upon another occasion, the altar and table were photographed (pi. 15, b), at which time most of 

 these items had been removed. 



An empty wooden box (12) stands casually in the center of the living room, and between it and the south door are 

 three low, straight chairs (13). 



e. Southwest of the living room is a nearly square building (pi. 9, b), regarded as the bedroom of the sons of the family; 

 upon occasion, it also is used for maize storage, and in it are concentrated the pottery-making activities (pi. 24, h) of the 

 women. The walls are of upright poles and split rails; the door, of bamboo splints (pi. 12, b). In front of the latter, a 

 stone is set flush in the ground, as a doorstep. 



Inside, there is a partition formed by vertical poles, the area north of which sometimes is used as a maize crib. In 

 the southern half of the room, a large table (1) stands diagonally, and a bench (2) is placed against the east wall. On this 

 the eldest son sleeps, while the other boys occupy mats spread on the floor. At the time our description was written, there 

 was no platform bed, but upon another occasion, the same room was photographed and was so equipped (pi. 24, h). Four 

 pottery jars sit on the floor against the west wall; old shoes and discarded clothing also are strewn on the floor. Running 

 diagonally from the partition to the north wall are two ropes (mecates) on which clothing is hung to air. 



/. The "master bedroom" is, at the same time, the principal granary. Walls and door are of light, upright poles, 

 lashed with liana. The roof, of palma redonda, has two long sheds and, at each end, a short one (cvlata). A few stones 

 are on the ground in front of the entrance, and there are more along the outside of the north and west walls. Large clay 

 jars (represented by open circles, not numbered) are liberally distributed about the exterior. Of the two inside, one, whose 

 mouth is covered with leaves, contains a moist clay, to be used in pottery manufacture. 



The furnishings are simple. The east half of the building functions as a granary (1). Forked posts are set into the 

 ground, and poles placed in their crotches; on them rest a series of north-south poles which form the floor of the crib, a 

 few centimeters above the ground. Its front wall is movable; others are formed by the walls of the building. Just west of 

 the granary is a low platform bed (2). To the rafters are tied ropes on which clothing is hung. Two small pigs tethered 

 in the southwest corner share the bedroom with Don Pablo and his wife. 



g. A pig shelter stands on the southern fringes of the clearing; immediately south of it, the land dips abruptly and 

 its slopes are morite-covered. Originally, the shelter consisted of a gable roof of palma redonda, supported on a four- 

 post frame. Later, an extension (shown by dotted line) to the west was added by setting up additional posts, and over 

 these a roof of single shed was built. The shelter is innocent of walls, except in the northwest corner, where there are 

 four cribbed poles on two sides; manifestly, this is of doubtful utility for, at present, the other sides are not fenced. 



h. The poultry house (pi. 17, b) is somewhat removed from the other buildings. It is constructed on a frame of 

 four forked posts; walls are of upright poles, lashed to a single cross piece on each wall. The palma redonda roof is of a 

 single shed and drains to the northwest. A standing wooden slab closes the entrance. 



