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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



because 2 years ago this family had been especially help- 

 ful when his own daughter died. 



The men, and a very few of the women guests, are served 

 In relays at a large table set in the "parlor." When 

 these special guests have finished, the table is moved into 

 the patio behind the kitchen, where most of the women 

 eat — both guests and those who have come to assist with 

 the cooking. 



After they have finished eating, the women wash the 

 dishes, rather casually, in wooden trays, scrubbing them 

 with leaves pulled from a great spray of pulus (No. 3) 

 hung on the outside wall of the kitchen. One woman 

 collects the banana leaves left from the consumed tamales 

 and tosses them into the brush, beyond the house clearing. 

 Another remains beneath the thatched roof all the time — 

 for if the kettles are left unattended, the dogs are likely 

 to sample the food. From time to time, she heaves a stone 

 at a thin hound which ventures near. The dogs are ubiq- 

 uitous, and, once in a while, a woman tosses a couple of 

 tamales or odd scraps to them. 



As a guess, at least 25 women are milling about in the 

 kitchen and adjacent patio. But not all the women go 

 through the motions of working. Some sit on a few 

 piled logs and chat; others merely stand and watch. 

 However, all the women of the M6ndez family are active 

 participants, as well as a considerable number of non- 

 relatives. 



Naturally, a festival of this size requires good organiza- 

 tion, but even so, it is surprising how well the informal 

 cooking arrangements function. There is no confusion; 

 food is ready on time; it is tasty; and it is well served. 

 Of course, a considerable part of the equipment has been 

 borrowed for the occasion. Probably some of the metates, 

 for example, have been lent, for few families have more 

 than three for personal use. Perhaps 25 cooking pots are 

 involved in the preparation of the food, and some of these 

 have been borrowed. Shortly after we arrive, one of the 

 girls goes to the nearby house of the brother of the host 

 and returns with an additional cooking jar. In this 

 particular case, the copper cauldrons probably belong to 

 the host, for he has a sugar mill and makes considerable 

 brown sugar. But a family without a cauldron may bor- 

 row or rent one for the feast. 



We also had opportunity to view cooking ar- 

 rangements at the house of Mauro Perez, when a 

 large number of guests assembled in honor of the 

 visiting image of St. Joseph : 



As a matter of fact, several adjacent houses of dif- 

 ferent members of the Perez family have been thrown 

 open. In the "parlor" of Don Mauro, the saint is in- 

 stalled on the domestic shrine. In the kitchen, about 10 

 women are making tortillas ; in that of his brother, Ce- 

 ferino Perez, several more are similarly engaged. The 

 nixtamal has been prepared outside, in a large copper 

 cauldron, about half way between the two kitchens. 

 Another copper cauldron outside the door of the kitchen 

 of Don Mauro is filled with water. 



Camp fires are made in the shade of a large roof (pi. 

 19, o), erected especially for the occasion. There is a 

 large home-made pottery pot, containing turkey mole, 



another with beans, and still another with coffee. All 

 rest on inverted pots which function as firedogs. To one 

 side is the copper cauldron with the nixtamal. 



Earlier, the hostess, who is one of the few in Tajin 

 who has an oven and who knows how to make bread, 

 has baked. In the morning guests are served bread and 

 coffee. At noon, they are given mole, beans, tortillas, and 

 coffee. Tables have been set out of doors and here the 

 guests eat. 



Virtually all the female members of the Perez family, as 

 well as a great many neighbor women, assist actively. 

 All work amiably and seem neither rushed nor dismayed 

 by the volume of guests. 



After the horde of visitors has been fed, and after the 

 cooks have had opportunity to eat, scraps are scraped 

 from the plates with bits of tortillas and are fed to the 

 dogs. At least a dozen are underfoot. Dishes then are 

 stacked. They are washed first in the water from the 

 nixtamal and are rubbed vigorously with pulus leaves, 

 later being rinsed with clear water. 



TECHNOLOGY 2 ° 



Without doubt, the Totonac were far better 

 artisans at the time of the Conquest than they are 

 today. The old chronicles bear evidence not only 

 of their skill as builders, but there is also mention 

 of metal artifacts, stone mosaics, wood carving, 

 fine weaving, and featherwork. ArcheologicaJ 

 finds in sixteenth-century "Cempoala'' likewise 

 attest Totonac competence, both in architecture 

 and in ceramics (Garcia Payon, 1949, a, b, c). 



Today, almost every Totonac woman in Tajin 

 is her own potter, but her ceramics are execrable. 

 A few women, most of them elderly, still weave 

 on the belt loom, and some of the cotton textiles 

 are of good quality. Every man knows how to 

 tie an assortment of knots, and a good many 

 know how to weave simple articles, such as the 

 palm ornaments used for altar decoration. Some 

 braid fiber to make a carrying strap and fill 

 wooden frames with a coil without foundation, 

 to form cradles and hanging frames for the stor- 

 age of kitchen supplies. Among them are good 

 craftsmen with real pride in workmanship. But 

 the fine skills which apparently characterized 

 Totonac culture at the time of the Conquest are 

 now a thing of the past. 



WOODWORKING 



There is scant mention of Totonac work in wood 

 at the time of the Conquest, but casual references 



10 A number in parentheses following the name of a plant refers 

 to our herbarium catalog in Appendix C. 



