File "Supplementary Mexican"--from Lew Wallace

1. Letter dtd June 28, 1942 from Lew Wallace to Mrs. Malinowska

Contains info on the Atzompa census-book

Says there are two maps which should be among BM's papers and are n
necessary to complete Atzompa map made by Fred Sheperd. This latter
is in turn necessary for using the census-book.

N. B. Addenda to this letter by VM tells IW's version of what BM
intended to publish

2. A ms. and some ms. notes by IW. "Description Concreta" in type

3. Outline map of puestos at fiesta of San Miguel Minas

4. Outline map of Mercado de la Merced; includes detailed entries of stalls

5. Packet of letters of Lew Wallace to his parents. Very folksy and descriptive.
Better than a lot of people's fieldnotes.

6. A very complete descriptive essay on "Los Puestos de Losa in Mercado de San Juan"

1122

THE ECONOMICS OF A MEXICAN MARKET PLACE

I. Actual problem of field work in Mexico today.

#1. Field work in M.; decisive phase
many projects; schools.
character of this approach.

#2. Research: field of cultural anthropology
functional: historical & scientific
historical in chronocling contemp. phase Mex. hist.
"scientific": experience, observation & principles.
test principles on facts.
conventional hist. used; ie. written records, etc.
history happening today. Carpe diem.
No difference in historicity betw funct. app. &
any legit. hist. interest.

#3 Cooperation betw. A & B.
Looked for starting point.
Chose system of markets - accessibility, etc.

#4. Market place - delight of tourist; interest for anthrop.
main economic mechanism of distribution.
here people's products disposed; necessities acquired
ec. aspects of every district & locality.
concourse to market.- every social class.
workshop products; hierlooms; cattle; transp. ani
There study people, material objects, ideas & values.
living museum.
Religion in adjacent churches.
Old customs revealed by strangers, antiquarian-object,
a tradit. usage.
Simultan'sly: innovations from abroad, sanitation,
"Progress".
Both ancient trade routes & airplanes from Mex. City.

#5. In mart place -- artisans, industries, agricult., cattle-raising, workshop. etc.
mart mechanism of distribution.
consumer's purchases for ec. needs.
archaeological research of Caso here supplemented
ethnographically.

1135

you how terrible it was.

Then we found out another cause few peasants from surrounding villages had brought maize in that day and that had contributed to the shortage. These same peasants had mostly come with fruit chili and other produce than maize. Since Indians, and others had to buy it, they pay so much of their store of cash for their amounts of maize which were indispensable to them. But no cash left over for other purchases. Chili dropped to an extremely low price. We had brought friends Manuel + Isadora who came with two bags of chili. They failed to sell any and then seeing the situation quit trying to sell.

By late afternoon the price stood at 90 for the best and wormy was at 85¢. But by that time the tension was over and people began to take in the situation and to make their personal decisions either to or not to buy. More of an atmosphere of acceptance and resignation.

It was all very exciting as we gradually pieced the whole situation to get her and finally the total picture of circumstances and causes emerged as the third dimension behind this valley, crowded, mountain Indians in their ragged half naked clothes and dialect jabber, and the valley indian women covered with their black shawls + with their empty baskets.

I must tell you also that I have eaten fried grasshoppers and found them delicious. They are very small before wings or legs have developed to a large size. Salted and with a very distinct taste. Not unlike very delicate soft shell crabs. I am going to bring back several jars full for cocktail appetizers. They will be very chic in Estados Unidos.

1141

Perhaps you are a traveller bound for the market at Zimatlan. As you follow the ruts of the road out from Oaxaca, your eye surveys the milpas on both sides. The maiz is growing in large fields. Trees or spiny bushes irregularly mark the limits of the way. Occasionally you pass ditches which are memories of the irrigation from which abundance grew during the epoch of the haciendas.

As you make your way by foot, by burro, in an ox-cart, on horseback, or perhaps in an auto, a mountain range to the West, on your left hand, remains a continual backdrop to the incidental sights & sounds of the road. During the early part of the day, though the contours are lost in the single dimension of a wall, some details may stand out clearly. There are various patches, signifying milpa, occasionally a church to mark a settlement, & rather oddly the tree tops lace the edge of the mt. where it overlaps the clear sky. Perhaps if the day lacks wind, you may be able to pick out little puffs of smoke where the carboneros are burning their charcoal. In the afternoon or evening these matutinal details have disappeared into the hazy blue of the mt's shadow.

This is not an unusual scene, for almost anywhere in the valley you are presented with a mountain backdrop of somewhat the same characteristics. True, the Sierra Juarez which borders the valley on the North, from Etla to Tlacolula & beyond, is higher, perhaps more precipitous, while the V-shaped range, which thrusts itself between the valleys of Tlacolula & Ocotlan, is composed of balder & more irregular hills. Even so, mts are a part of the usual scene. This particular range to the right of a Zimatlan-bound traveller is referred to as the region of San Miguel Peras.

If this traveller has been an observer of the valley markets, he has seen in each of them in almost every one of them the people from one mt region or another, squatting together behind their bundles of fruit or fire wood. Their rough & ragged clothes,

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1142

weather-beaten felt hats atop unkempt mops of hair, the strong-lunged chests of both men & women, & in the market, since partly barred by their indian dialect from the Spanish speaking townsmen, their practice of staying closely together make the mt people unmistakable to even the most casual observer. For the most part, the *cerranos* sell apples, pears, & from one region quinces; they also bring the resinous pine kindling which makes a popular fuel because of its light, larger sticks, & the carbon which may be sold directly by the producer somewhere on the outskirts of the market-place, or hawked through the streets on burros, or sold to a regaton & deposited with his store. The two latter practices are more characteristic of Oaxaca itself than elsewhere.

As you make your way toward Zimatlan, you may well stare & ponder at the multitude of footprints of man & beast which the road's sandy or muddy surface catches for a transitory moment until replaced by fresher ones. The track of ox-cart, of pack trains, & of flocks guard the center; the flanks are various trails of men, more selective in their footing, or of servant.buuros. Such a road is a palimpsest of man's & beast's activity.

It is not long before you sight travellers. They may be such *cerranos* as you are already familiar with in the market-place. The long-suffering burros with their cargos of fruit, wood or carbon are driven on ahead. The Indian, his woman, & perhaps a child walk swiftly behind. The switch falls upon any burro which fails to match their rapid pace. These are *gravet &* intent travellers.

Or perhaps you pass a large train with twenty or thirty burros & five or six men. The loads are wrapped with telltale banana leaves, & upon inquiry you learn that these men have crossed the mts from *tierra caliente* to the West, either from behind Peras or more to the Southwest beyond Sola de Vega, are bound for the market at Oaxaca. Thus not only the produce of the *cerranos* comes out of the mts of Peras, but bananas & other tropical

1143

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commerce traverse them between the more distant Pacific slopes & Oaxaca, economic center of the valley.

Already, therefore, gazing from the valley at this mt range, while remembering ordinary experiences of the market-place & observing pertinent signs & events on the road, one has some knowledge of the mumbo district of Peras itself. But this is only enough to stimulate, not satisfy, one's curiosity, & one must go & see for himself.

As already indicated, However, our interest is the economic: the markets, the roadways of trade, & the production of villages. Unlike a child's in its liberty may seem to have pure, free curiosity, which has its purpose in itself, our interest is more or less bound by the objectives of economic inquiry. It will be well, therefore, to indicate more particularly what are the leading questions to guide us in an examination, however, cursory, of this mt district. (Thus such a method is difficult if not impossible in practice, it is nevertheless a wise one in trying to present one's results.)

## General Problems

In this, as in our other observations, inquiry falls theoretically into three lines. We will want to know (a) what the region produces for the valley, (b) in what commodities it is dependent upon the valley, & (c) something of the conditons under which such exchanges are possible. It has already been pointed out that fruits, carbon & wood come from this region, as one sees in the valley markets. But within this category of mt production we wish to know, if possible, what are the costs of making carbon & how it is done; likewise whether there are orchards of fruit & what the labor in tending the trees & gathering the apples or peaches may be. On the other hand, if we learn how much maiz is produced up above & what its current price is, we should be able to arrive at some estimation as to the quantity of maiz which it is necessary for a mt family to purchase in Oaxaca & other valley markets. Also we may first ask what the local diet & then find how many of its items are produced locally, what are purchased. Finally, we would like to get some notion of travelling conditions & distances which

1144

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naturally are factors in the cost of living, whether they are specifically regarded by *the* peoples as a cost or merely included among the hardships of *in* life on this earth.

Now any one of these questions may be partly determined by inquiry in the valley. There, for instance, we can find out the method & the costs of producing carbon. We already know the economics of maiz as well. But, however exact calculations in the valley may be, they are nevertheless limited by the possibility of overlooking *an* important factor. A survey of the mt region at first hand, if it only yields the most general impressions, will at least guide us in the emphasis given to previous material & perhaps will suggest further aspects or factors in the regular inquiries.

This discussion will deal with four towns visited, the impressions of the country & of the roads. Regretably enough, the information is of a general nature & many lost opportunities for gaining specific detailed material have & will continue to appear.

## Physical Aspect of Mountain

Let the reader now abandon the road to Zimatlan & seek after those realities, of which his curious eye has already picked out some details. This single dimension backdrop for the valley scene is a mt range of several thousand feet in height from the valley floor. the eastern, *the* valley slope begins with the convolutions of *its* foothills. which rise rather abruptly from the valley floor. Among these, the view *from* Monte Alban reveals, innumerable gulches worn by eroding storm waters, while there are also a few streams that flow *continually* throughout the rainy season.

The foothills rise abruptly & soon *become* the walls of the mt. *however*, *lower levels of these hills* while at the lowest point the foothills are nude of vegetation except for what may live in such rocky soil, they soon support a variety of scrub oak & a few pines. On the upper slopes the pines become increasingly numerous & the oak bushes gradually cease. *All of this mt slope* is covered by vegetation & nowhere does one find cliffs or bare rock.

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1145

At the summit it becomes apparent that this is a plateau. The country consists of rolling hills which after several miles begin to slope downward & gradually form into ridges & valleys of greater & greater length & breadth, which continue on downward to tropical regions.

At one time fifteen or twenty years ago, according to one informant, these rolling hills & valleys were covered by a dense forest so that it was possible to travel all day long beneath the shadow of giant trees which obscured the sky. The same informant explains that the practice of clearing patches for maiz & even more destructive in its effect, the great forest fires have destroyed large portions of this timber. One fire of the previous spring, we were told, burned for sixteen days. It seems doubtful whether clearing small portions of land every two or three years when the soil of the old maiz fields becomes exhausted, could have the effect of so destroying the forest, because the cultivation is never extensive & Nature's process of renewing old soil would continue, but of course great fires could have this destructive effect. We will again refer to the problem of erosion.

Today, at any rate, one finds these rolling hills covered by meadows interspersed here & there with stands of pine trees. The trees are without underbrush & the meadow grass continues among them. One sees that the soil is a reddish clay with more or less sand in different places. The profusion of wildflowers are delightful. One may recognize certain plants such as the "espadin of Santiago" which the herb-vendors include in their stock.

When further down the westward slope these hills are divided by valleys, the trees are predominately hardwood, varieties of oak & what appears to be some species of beech. The pine is more rare. Here orchid plants are perched on the tree limbs & one may also see tall wildflowers which appear very much like dahlias. Beneath the surface these hills contain gold.

In contrast to the eastern, **valley** slope, the areas westward from the mt crest are much more moist. This condition is due to the heavy dew as well as the rainfall.

To conclude, a general segment of the mt range will therefore indicate a step eastern wall & a rolling top, sloping gradually westward with differences in both moisture & vegetation.

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1146

SAN PABLO QUATRO VENADOS

San Pablo 4 Venados, situated at the very crest of a rut, is the first settlement one encounters. It is approached from Cuilapam.

One approaches San Pablo Quator Venados from Cuilapam. The road follows a winding stream back into the foothills. On both sides of this water the fertile lands of the Cuilapeños which are watered by a substantial system of irrigation. As far as may be casually noticed the ditches are all in good repair & the crops look excellent even when 1941 was an extremely dry summer. These fields of Cuilapam follow the river back several miles distant into the foothills.

cannot be This road, however, is not the one used by the people of San Pablo on their way to Oaxaca, for a line exists beyond which people from either village can only pass at peril of death. A long-standing boundary dispute has kept the people of San Pablo & Cuilapam at feud with one another for some time.(?) Every few years persons from one side or the other are killed, the balance is reversed & the other pueblo must then avenge itself. We were told of such deeds as catching a man & cutting off his feet. It is evident that the two pueblos are at deadlock & that nothing can solve the issue. For the most part, therefore, the two peoples avoid each other completely, passing the San Pablenos making a detour of several extra miles in order to avoid from to & from Oaxaca in order to avoid the enemy territory. Others, however, a pass undisturbed & the road appears to be well used. It is indeed one of the principle thorooughfares into the mts. Whatever material in miniature this situation may provide for the international moralist, it is for us another indication of the peril of the roads & the consequent loss of time for the people of San Pablo. (?) It is also a symptom of the lack of means of cooperation between pueblos where their mutual interests are at stake. As a factor in the economic life of the region this condition cannot be over-emphasized particularly in respect to the never-realized possibilities of irrigation. Wisely enough the pueblos do not want the state government to interfere in their affairs with the inevitable result of political interference, greater taxation, & graft.

Feud

Statement of feud
is misleading -
idea of line wrong.

(awkward)

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1147

After the road has ascended for some time one passes a large sized gold mine. Thereupon the ascent is steep & one has already entered the scrub oak belt. Here the people of San Pablo burn much of their carbon. One can see burning sites on every hand. This is the principle occupation in the village of San Pablo.

**Carbon** The production of carbon follows a cycle of four days. One day is spent in cutting the oak wood, which is then stacked round a fire & covered with earth, two tunnels being left open to keep the fire from smothering, one at the top & one at the side. The burning process takes two days. Afterwards the carbon in net bundles must be transported by burro into Oaxaca, therefore taking in all four days. The carbon from one **horno**, or kiln, is a load for two burros, referred to as **a carga**. The price obtained for the carbon is 1 peso per **carga**, which therefore comes to 50 centavos income per day for four days. As far as I know, the burning is done irregularly & the trip made to Oaxaca whenever a man has a sufficient load. If we rely upon this & figure out the possible annual income, we find it to be a maximum of 180 pesos per year.

There are several important factors which tend to reduce this figure. In the first place we have found as a general rule that a man does not work at a single job throughout the day, rather he has a variety of tasks & he passes from one to another of them as the need arises. The fact that the informant figured in days does not necessarily contradict this general practice. We have also found that production is geared to a weekly cycle, making it impossible for one to attend the market each week with one's produce sell it & purchase supplies for the following week. - in the case of San Pablo the Oaxaca market on Saturday. The strength of these two factors make it probable that 2 pesos is no more than a weekly cash income, making an annual income of 104 pesos maximum.

However, this is gross rather than net income. Only about forty families in San Pablo possess burros. For many it is necessary to rent one or more burros at a price of a half **carga**, the equivalent of 50 centavos. As another factor we note that the trip to Oaxaca & back consumes one day, but if the **carbonero** stayed over night he would have to meet some small additional expenses.

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1149

**Physical Aspect**

The pueblo itself of San Pablo has a weird aspect, especially after dark or in the early dawn (the only times at which the present writer saw the village.) It is perched just below the crest of the mtn. From one houseyard you look down into that of the neighbor, & the paths wind up & down between these small level spaces. The houses are made of *jacal*, that is of underbrush with roofs of cornstalks or grass, which culminate in a horn-like projection at either end of the ridge pole, surmounted by a pot to prevent leaking. As if to exorcise this horned thing a cross is usually stuck in the middle of the roof. The church & the school bldg stand on an eminence where their corrigated iron roofs may be seen from far away in the valley. At present San Pablo is without any priest. Formerly one came for the two fiestas of San Pablo & Rosario from the pueblo of San Miguel Peras, but for sometime there has been no priest in San Miguel either, so that the village is without benefit of clergy except when the people are in Oaxaca. The school is now run by a young female teacher with the aid & protection of her cross-eyed father. The father, Don Vincente Rodriquez, had only recently come to San Pablo & spoke at great length of the poverty of the village & his inability to get anything; "No hay nada, nada," he complained.

**Maiz**

In conversation with the president of the Municipio it appeared that there is very little maiz in San Pablo. Only teh families, approximately, possess parcels of cultivated land & those, he says, are *muy chico*. *Yuntas* of oxen are not used, but cultivation is entirely by hand with the *coa*, a form of hoe. Only one man sells maiz in San Pablo, & when he does have some to sell, we were told, he charges 80 centavos per *almud*,* a price ordinarily ten or fifteen centavos above that of Oaxaca. The Presidente says that from one *almud de siembra* (seed) they get about three *cargas* of maiz or 54 *almudes*.

* an almud is an old Spanish measure of quantity used in the valley & equivalent to five litros.

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1151

Production
Other Supplies
other

It is possible that the people of San Pablo may have yet
other sources of monetary income, but I am not aware of them. They do
not cut wood for market, since it commands a lower price than carbon &
also since they have time only to work at one of these alternatives. It
will be seen that the monetary income from carbon & apples roughly balances
the expenses for maiz & other necessities. Let us now look at what thing
people may procure for themselves in San Pablo & then at what the necessities
for other monetary expenses may be.

Some people have small herds of goats & a few cows. These are
used chiefly for meat at the time of fiestas or other special occasions.
There is no professional butcher in San Pablo, nor are there any tiendas,
either licensed or illegal. While Don Vicente denied the existence of
chickens, the ethnographer was apprised of dawn's approach by a multitude
of crowing cocks. During the day the poultry may be seen throughout the
underbrush of the settlement. It may be that some have pigs, although that
fact is uncertain. We were told that the people eat very little venison,
but the truth of the statement is unchecked except by the fact that during
five days spent in these mts no game of any kind was seen at all, an
unusual circumstance in any country where there are deer. The diet may
also be supplemented by raspberries or other wild fruit & perhaps by nuts.
Among monetary costs we have, thus far, only mentioned maiz.
The Presidente & Don Vicente said that the people did not generally
much use coffee or sugar & that for the usual diet the regular purchases in
besides maiz were Oaxaca maiz, 5 centavos worth of lime which is necessary in the
preparation of maiz for tortillas, 1/2 kilo of salt (price ?) & several
centavos worth of chili.

Of course, there are other costs for non-comestibles such as
clothing, household utensiles & a very few miscellaneous expenses such
as that necessary modicum of alcohol which helps man to endure his wretched
lot on earth & the contributions that may be given to a patron saint in
order to assure the aid & protection of supernatural powers as a supplement
to man's poor weaker forces. On these items in the balance of San Pablo's
economic life I have no information. Utensiles are quite difficult to
account for. We may further note that while the climate is very cold, the

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1153

information on this point, but the lack of data together with such
facts as the higher prices & also the difficulty of ascent to the pueblo
would indicate that such a role is unimportant or non-existent. This
could be determined more definitely. At most San Pablo may be a stopping
point for the night; certainly no transactions take place there between
inhabitants & passing traders. In the market of Santa Cruz, however,
we will see a settlement which plays such a role as a secondary center
of distribution.

In conclusion then it may be said of the economic life of
San Pablo that the people are very poor. And yet we cannot agree with the
dicta, "No hay nada, nada." At however low a level they are nevertheless
able to hold body & soul together. The village of Santiago Clavallinas,
which will be discussed below, by way of general impression appeared to
be much more destitute. Let us not overlook the sadness & the hardship,
but on the other hand, like many poor folk the people of San Pablo are
extremely lospitable. They are also polite & gracious. They are proud
of their schoolhouse, their earthquake-shaken church, proud of their pueblo,
perhaps even happy.

$$ \text{Costs} = \left[ \begin{array}{c} \text{cobrador} \\ \text{cost of puesto} \end{array} \right] \qquad (2.) $$

lists of families.

food.

clothing.

house-

Sociology-

Other earnings from *other* members of family otherwise occupied.

Balance sheet = of a puesto-

To whom sold = tourists.

house wives in Oxaca

Indians.

To other regattones(?)

From whom bought = Propio alfereros

Atzompa

Baxaca.

Coyotepc.

methods.