THE TAJIN TOTONAC — PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



223 



with a skewer to greenery decorating either the 

 altar frame (pi. 15, a) or the arch set at the head 

 of a grave in the cemetery. Sometimes, palm 

 arches are erected in honor of a visiting saint, 

 and to them palm rosettes are pinned (pi. 26, /). 

 Flowers, according to season, but most often mari- 

 golds, bougainvillea, or Plumeria (No. 151) are 

 stuck about the edge of the woven center (pi. 

 27, b). 



The simplest form of rosette, known as a star, 

 is used in quantity. Ten or fifteen men may col- 

 laborate in collecting the palm and in weaving the 

 figures. Not all know how to make them ; a good 

 many are able to weave the simple star, but few 

 make the more elaborate figures. The latter are 

 hung from the canopy over the altar or from the 

 arch over the grave. 



Palm figures — sometimes quite elaborate ones — 

 are woven in many parts of Mexico, especially for 

 Palm Sunday. Those of Taj in are based, for the 

 most part, on the rosettelike star, whose distribu- 

 tion, if known, might be of considerable interest. 

 A passing mention of ornamental "stars and ro- 

 settes" of palm, for the Mixteca (Starr, p. 127) 

 may indicate that similar manufactures are cur- 

 rent there. The possibility of an essentially Gulf 

 coast distribution might also be borne in mind. 



In Tajin, the immature leaf from the heart of 

 the coyol palm (No. 362) is preferred ; if necessary, 

 that of the palma redonda (No. 259) may be 

 substituted. The leaflets are folded in the young 

 coyol leaf, which is bent to loosen them. Each 

 leaflet then is separated with care and is checked 

 twice to make sure that all thornlike spines have 

 been removed. Each narrow leaflet grows doubled 

 lengthwise, and along the fold is a semirigid vein. 

 This and adjacent parts of the leaflets are cream- 

 colored, while the doubled edges are a light green ; 

 in weaving, these differences in color are capital- 

 ized. 



Star. — For the basic palm figure known as a 

 star (estrella; fiAku, ^u*kswat) (pi. 27, a, b), either 

 33 or 37 leaflets are used, dependent upon the size 

 of the finished specimen. Below is a brief de- 

 scription of the manufacture of a star by Lorenzo 

 Xochigua. 



A start is made by placing three leaflets in triangular 

 formation (fig. 51, a) on a table or board; the creamy 

 vein of each faces the central opening. The base of the 

 fourth leaflet is inserted in the central aperture and is 

 pulled into place (fig. 51, 6) . The fifth is introduced from 



the outside, as is the sixth. Work continues counter- 

 clockwise, until the circle is completed and rather com- 

 pactly woven. By this time, the central aperture no 

 longer is triangular, but circular. In every case, the 

 leaflet is so inserted that its cream-colored vein lies to- 

 ward the central opening. 



Figure 51. — Start of palm star figure, a, b, Foundation 

 used by Lorenzo Xochigua ; c, by Rutilio Olnios. See 

 text (pp. 223-224) for explanation. 



Next, the leaflets which lie on the upper or work face 

 are lifted, and a narrow strip of palm leaf (pi. 27, a) 

 or of j&note (No. 100) bark is passed beneath them. The 

 strand is pulled tight and tied, so that the woven center 

 will not ravel. Now, the half-finished star is held verti- 

 cally in one hand and is twirled rapidly, while the thumb 

 taps the woven center lightly ; this results in a more even 

 distribution of the individual leaflets. 



