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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



sticks are sufficiently long and thick. Even the 

 chaca (No. 228), ordinarily disdained as fuel, is 

 acceptable. It is said that formerly, bamboo 

 (tarro, No. 180) was greatly favored and that 

 vessels baked in its fire "ring like a bell." 



One evening, we watched Doha Anita bake an 

 unusually large jar which she had made almost a 

 month before: 



The wood is neatly stacked. On the ground are four 

 or five large trunks, of uniform length, all laid parallel 

 and touching one another. On top of them, of the same 

 length and likewise parallel, somewhat lighter wood is 

 stacked. At each side, three light stakes have been driven 

 into the ground, to keep the wood from rolling out of place. 

 The pyre stands about 0.5 m. high and a bit over a meter 

 in length. 



Dona Anita lights the fire on the top, using coals from 

 her kitchen hearth, and fanning the incipient blaze with 

 an old hat of her husband's (the firefan is unknown in 

 Tajin) . When the pyre is well lighted, she and her spouse 

 bring the large jar from the house and place it directly on 

 the fire, mouth downward. She continues fanning the 

 blaze, until at last the rim of the jar turns reddish. 



After a considerable lapse of time, although the red 

 color does not extend beyond the rim, the vessel is turned. 

 Her husband, standing at one side, inserts a long pole 

 beneath the rim of the pot, while Dona Anita, on the 

 opposite side, pushes with a pole against the lower wall. 

 The jar is turned on its side, and her husband, with his 

 pole, forces it again into vertical position, this time, rim 

 upward. With the poles, the firewood is pushed around 

 in such manner that thick sticks are about the base of the 

 pot and prevent its falling. 



The vessel remains in this position until the fire is 

 consumed. It turns only slightly red on the bottom and 

 lower walls, and the color does not extend to the upper 

 half of the vessel. In the morning of the following day, 

 the pot is removed from the ashes. 



If the jar is very small, it may be baked on a 

 simple bonfire, or on the kitchen hearth, with the 

 sticks placed radially. In this case, likewise, the 

 vessel first is placed mouth down, and later is 

 turaed upright. Sometimes, it is said two jars 

 may be fired concurrently, but multiple baking 

 seems unusual. 



Bowls. — The initial steps in making a large 

 bowl — circular or oval — are identical with those 

 of a jar : 



Rolls of clay are shaped between the hands and two 

 are placed to form a circle or an oval on a banana leaf, 

 which covers a board or the top of a box. Ordinarily, 

 two superimposed circles of clay rolls give sufficient height 

 for the walls (pi. 25, a). With upward stroking of the 

 fingers, the circles are fused, first on the interior wall 

 (pi. 25, b), then on the exterior. The upper edge is 

 wiped with the moistened hand to form the rim of the 



bowl (pi. 25, c), following which the walls are scraped 

 with the calabash disk described previously. 



In contrast to a jar, the base of a bowl is added 

 at once, and the vessel is not inverted for this 

 operation : 



Clay is patted between the hands, as though it were 

 a tortilla, until it forms a disk of the indicated size and 

 thickness. This is placed directly on the banana leaf, 

 inside the cylindrical walls. With the fingertips, the 

 disk and side walls are worked together. The hands 

 are dipped in water and the whole surface wiped smooth 

 (pi. 25, d). 



The finished vessel is set to one side, on rags, and sur- 

 rounded by castor leaves, so that it may dry slowly. A 

 semidry vessel is scraped further and the base-wall junc- 

 tion smoothed. 



We did not have opportunity to witness the 

 manufacture of the special cajete, which takes the 

 form of a hollow doughnut, transversely bisected. 

 These clay rings, open at the top to receive water, 

 are set around young plants to guard them against 

 ants. They also may be used about the feet of 

 the posts which support the box in which the Old 

 World bee is kept — again, as protection against 

 ants. Several women in Tajin manufacture such 

 ring-shaped vessels, but we cannot say whether 

 the form is of recent introduction. Identical pot- 

 tery devices as protection against ants are found 

 in mestizo communities in Jalisco, and, on the 

 authority of Erich Georgi, in Acatlan in the 

 Mixteca. 



Bowls are fired as are jars, according to size. 

 If the vessel is large, it requires a special pyre, 

 with all the wood parallel and of uniform length. 

 If it is small, it may be baked on the kitchen 

 hearth, with the wood arranged radially. As 

 usual, the vessel is placed in the fire, mouth down, 

 and later is turned upright. 



Baking plate and pot cover. — A baking plate 

 {comal) for tortillas generally is formed on the 

 base of the circular wooden tray, inverted for this 

 purpose (pi. 25, e), and sprinkled with sand or 

 finely powdered ash, so that the clay will not stick. 



A ball of mud is worked between the hands and then is 

 placed on the tray. With the palm, it is beaten lightly 

 and pressed until it covers the entire circular surface of 

 the tray. The rim is turned up slightly, by running one 

 finger about the circumference onl the inside, another on 

 the outside. Occasionally, the rim is pinched as though 

 it were piecrust. 



The upper surface of the plate is smoothed alternately 

 with the palm (pi. 25, /) and with a corncob, which has 

 been toasted to remove loose fibers. With the cob, finger 



