THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



213 



smeared with a paste made by mixing lime with the 

 liquid drained from the nixtamal and with the 

 scum from boiling cane sirup. High breakage 

 often is attributed to the fact that a pregnant 

 woman visited the house while the clay vessels 

 were drying. If small girls touch an unidentified 

 plant known as cascabel, "when they are grown, 

 they will break every pottery vessel that comes to 

 their hands." 



It seems likely that in former times local pot- 

 tery was of better quality than it is today. A 

 water jar, made by the mother, now deceased, of 

 Pablo Gonzalez, is noticeably superior to any 

 ware manufactured at present. Moreover, it is 

 said that some decades ago, water jars were pro- 

 duced locally in quantity and were carried to 

 nearby Coatzintla for sale. Unless the quality 

 were infinitely better than it is today, it seems 

 almost certain that there would have been no out- 

 side market. 



By no means does the Taj in housewife depend 

 exclusively on her own ceramic products. Now- 

 adays, water jars are so heavy that they are used 

 only for storage, and no woman attempts to haul 

 water in a vessel of her own manufacture, if she 

 can possibly avoid it. For carrying water, vir- 

 tually all families rely on lightweight glazed jars 

 (fig. 39), most of which seem to be manufactured 



Figure 39. — Glazed water jars, a, From area of Zaca- 

 tlan, Puebla; b, thought to be from Jalacingo, Veracruz 

 (sic). Scale: }i natural size. 



commercially in the Zacatlan area of the Sierra 

 de Puebla. Generally, these are bought from 

 itinerant traders from the highlands; sometimes 

 they are obtainable in Papantla. Moreover, an 

 unglazed jar, with cream slip and a band of geo- 

 metric design in maroon, occasionally is used in 

 Tajin, as a water container. Apparently from 



Huejutla, Hidalgo, this type of jar has a very 

 wide distribution and appears to be marketed 

 from Tamazunchale to Tuxpan, and, on rare oc- 

 casions, in Papantla. 



Most families try to possess one or more shallow 

 bowls, with interior glaze, for frying. Such ves- 

 sels are available in Papantla, but the ware sold 

 there, allegedly from Hidalgo, is said not to be 

 durable. Glazed bowls from Zacatlan are greatly 

 preferred, and vendors from the Sierra de Puebla 

 find a ready market in Tajin. The first time such 

 a bowl is used, either "maize gruel or new beans 

 should be cooked in it ; if fat is used at once, later 

 the vessel will absorb grease, and the food will 

 stick." 



Although local wares cannot compare in quality 

 with the imported products, there seems to be 

 a real ceramic tradition in Tajin. Despite the 

 poor quality of the output, women take great 

 pains and considerable pride in their work. And 

 every woman seems to set considerable store on 

 her household pottery — perhaps because it is some- 

 thing which belongs definitely to her. In one case, 

 a man abandoned his legal wife, to live with a 

 younger woman, and the outraged spouse came to 

 the house when nobody was home and broke all 

 the dishes and cooking ware. This particular in- 

 dignity was mentioned frequently by both the 

 younger woman and by the neighbors. 



A girl learns to make pottery by watching her 

 mother, aunts, or grandmother. Maria Loreto, 

 who lived in Talaxca as a child, started by making 

 small bowls from balls of clay. Her mother en- 

 couraged her to use her imagination, telling her to 

 fashion the vessels "as they came to her head." 

 One adolescent boy enjoys playing with clay and 

 occasionally makes a bowl or little figures (fig. 40) . 



Figure 40. — Clay toys. Made by 14-year-old Pedro 

 Garcia. The hat of a is removable; originally, both 

 specimens had black beans stuck in the clay to form 

 eyes; these were destroyed in the course of firing. 

 Height of a, 11.5 cm.; b, same scale. 





