THE TAJIK TOTONAC — PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



225 



27, d; fig. 52). We did not see this being made, 

 but it is said that work starts above and proceeds 

 downward ; at the bottom is a fringe of loose seg- 

 ments which form a sort of tassel on the ground. 

 We photographed one canopy of four leaves (pi. 

 26, /) , which has this selvage on both sides of the 

 lower half of each. To these arches and canopies 

 palm stars usually are pinned, giving a very festive 

 effect. 



Figure 52. — Selvage of palm arch. See text (p. 224-225) 

 for explanation. 



OTHER PALM MANUFACTURES 



The ancient Totonac are said to have made palm 

 mats and seats (asientos), decorated in colors 

 (Sahagun 3: 129), but this craft is not found in 

 Tajin today. 



One day, for our entertainment, Pablo Gonzalez 

 wove a couple of toys of the leaf of the coyol palm, 

 one representing a serpent, the other a grasshop- 

 per (fig. 53). As far as we know, the manufac- 



ture of such palm effigies is not common. 



In contrast to the Huasteca (Starr, p. 284), 

 there is no weaving of palm hats in Tajin, al- 

 though it is said that Ignacio de la Cruz, long 

 since dead, knew how to braid strips of palma 

 redonda, to be sewn into hats. 



BASKETRY 



In "Cempoala," the Spaniards were offered bas- 

 kets of hog plums (Diaz del Castillo 1 : 171) , but 

 in Tajin today, baskets are of little importance. 

 From time to time, a commercial product is bought 

 in Papantla and serves as a general utility con- 

 tainer — for maize, for other food, and, in one 

 house, for storing balls of spun cotton. Strangely 

 enough, no basket is used in harvesting, and corn 

 is collected in commercial sacks ; it is possible that 

 the latter have replaced the old carrying frame. 

 The need for baskets probably is slight, since 

 gourds and wooden trays are plentiful in every 

 household; moreover, the Papantla market sup- 

 plies maguey fiber shoulder bags and flexible palm 

 baskets. 22 



Of baskets as such, the only specimens we have 

 seen are of wickerwork. Although baskets in the 

 literal sense are rare, paradoxically, basketry 

 stitches are plentiful. The upright poles which 

 form fences and house walls are attached to cross- 

 pieces with liana, which is applied as wrapped 

 twine; and the rectangular hanging shelves used 

 in kitchens are held together with the same stitch. 

 It seems likely that the latter also enters into the 

 construction of cane bird cages, although through 

 oversight no description of the latter was recorded. 

 Assuredly, the coiled filler used in making the 

 cradle and the circular, hanging tray on which 

 provisions are stored is a form of basketry, as are 

 palm figures and woven chair seats. 



In other words, although baskets scarcely are to 

 oe seen in Tajin, the Totonac use wickerwork, 

 wrapped twine, coil without foundation, and, for 

 the palm figures and chair seats, a technique akin 



Figure 53. — Palm toys. Woven by Pablo Gonzalez, of 

 coyol palm. Upper, a serpent; lower, a grasshopper. 

 Scale: Slightly less than ){ natural size. 



"The palm receptacle is flat-bottomed, with cylindrical walla, 

 and is woven in checkerwork, double at the rim. Our Informants 

 do not know the source of these containers, which are sold in 

 Papantla as tenatcx. Although there Is no tradition of local 

 manufacture, the receptacle has a Totonac name (pafaya). Such 

 a basket is converted into n burden carrier by the simple ex- 

 pedient of tying the tumpllne to the rim. p.isslnir ils cords be- 

 neath the basket, to give support. Bread and other small pur- 

 chases sometimes are carried from I'anantla in a tcnale. but its 

 use Is far from general. 



