Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-17
A CITY OF INDIANS
SOMETHING OF TEHUANTEPEC IN
MEXICO.
Women Do All the Business and Are
Shrewd, Men Are Laborers and
Almost Worthless.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
TEHUANTEPEC. Mexico, March Z, 1903.
Tehuantepec is a city of Indians. The
architecture is Spanish, as is the language.
The people show little mixture of blood.
In stature. feature and color there Is
great similarity. Marriage is not a popular
Institution, and everybody is said to be re-
lated, which is probably the case. The
physical development is remarkable, the
reason for which no one seems to know.
The women are short in stature, never over
five feet in height, with well-rounded forms
1t is said that they are the most beautiful
women in Mexico. There are figures cal
culated to arouse the ambition OF an artist.
There is not a superabundance of fatty It's
sue. 1t is seldom that woman Is seen
whose figure suggests too much flesh. On
the other hand, none is thin gaunt. The
expression is intelligent. laughing, bright.
An American would not call the women
beautiful, for the dark rich, coffee-with
cream color is un-American, but the club
by, petite form attracts attention. The wo-
men do all the labor transact all business
and fill the market place. They are the
leaders in the business world. The men
are much their interiors. They are small,
skinny and weak. They have no interest
in life, and do little work. 1t is said that
they have degenerated by reason of years
of devotion to aguardiente, the native rum,
but 1t Is hard to understand why the native
race has not degenerated. Whatever the
cause, Tehuantepec is a city Of women.
Style Of Dress.
The style Of dress has not changed in
many years. 1t is picturesque and becom-
ing. The combination Of colors is artistic.
The feet are bare The refaio is generally
worn as a skirt. Here 1t is yellow, with a
wide f1OlInca of white around ha hnttov,>
This is of lightweight goods, woven by the
women, and is nothing more or less than a
rectangular piece Of cloth bound round the
waist and kept closed at the side by
double fold. The garment is Of the same
breadth at the knees as at the waist, and in
walking there is quite tension, suggestive
of catastrophe The waist has no connec-
ton with the refajo. 1t meets 1t on level
at the waist under ordinary circumstances,
but there Is no connecting link. 1t Is made
of light calico, silk or velvet, and is trans
lucent. 1t is of blue or red, with a yellow
or gold border. The yellow follows the out
line, coming up over the shoulder and
around the arm at the shoulder in an in
verified u. The arms are bare. The style
is not adapted to the modern American pas
senger car. When the arms are extended
upward to grasp the railing Of the steps
there is a terrible hiatus between the refajo
and the huipilito, and when an effort is
made to reach the step with the foot the
IeldJO gives way anu Inc UdSulul passengers
blush. There is headgear known as huipil
grande. This is of lacework, white and
stiff1y starched. 1t is quite elaborate
affair. 1t hangs to the waist and spreads
out concealing the arms behind. corona
stands up over the head 1t apparently has
no excuse for existence in beauty, con-
venience utility. peculiar fad indi-
Gates the financial standing Of the women.
Around the neck and to the waist in front
is chain Of American five-dollar gold
pieces. At the end of the chain is twenty
dollar gold piece, American. With the
wealthy there Is sometimes second chain.
With the poorer there Is sometimes only
one coin suspended at the neck While the
rate of exchange hovers close to $500, Mex
lean, for an American dollar, the women
will give So per dollar for American gold
piece. Strange to say, they will refuse at
any price English, French or Spanish gold.
There is an unconscious tribute, then, to
American supremacy that Is hard to under
stand among people having little knoWl-
edge Of the United States, geographically
or politically. The women are devoted to
the market, and there gather by the hun
dreds every day. 1t Is impossible to buy
woman's wares on the way to market at
double price. 1t Is not possible to buy an
entire stock in market. There would be no
market there, and that seems to be the
whole pleasure in life The market building
is ancient and substantial. 1t Is a roof of
tile, supported by numerous stone pillars.
The women squat around, with their ware
in front of them, partly surrounded by
their limbs; and, in fact, the habit of sitting
seems natural. When two women meet on
a street-and the middle Of the street, with
its foot or two Of sand. is the popular
Sidewalk sit down, with their feet
under them, and do as all women do-talk.
They prefer the end of the railroad ties to
platform rocker, and an iron rail Is far
superior in their estimation to a Morris
chair. It is difficult to account for the strong
development of the women. The people are
the Zapotecos Indians. They were once
powerful but never warlike. The Aztecs
the city of Tehuantepec Is somewhat in
doubt, according to tradition.
Women Do the Business.