THE HAMMOCK INDUSTRY OF YUCATAN, MEXICO:
A STUDY IN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY

Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
ALICE LITTLEFIELD
‘ 1975

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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

THE HAMMOCK INDUSTRY OF YUCA'I'AN, MEXICO:
A STUDY IN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY

presented by

ALICE LITTLEFIELD

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D. degree in Anthropology

 

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f‘ifi ABSTRACT

THE HAMMOCK INDUSTRY OF YUCATAN, MEXICO:
A STUDY IN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY

By
Alice Littlefield

This study analyzes the relations of production and distribu-
tion in the Yucatecan hammock industry in the context of the ongoing
process of capitalist economic development and class differentiation
in Yucatan. Hammock-weaving provides an example of artisan activity
organized in terms of the putting-out system, a system which has his-
torical parallels in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe, and
one which is becoming more common in Mexican handicrafts under the
impact of tourism. The emergence of this system and other forms of
merchant control is viewed as a process intimately linked with the
proletarianization of the rural population and the characteristics
of capitalist development in the region.

The study is based on fieldwork in Yucatan carried out from
August of I97] through July of I972. The first four months were
spent interviewing hammock merchants and dealers in Mérida and making
visits to various communities specializing in the weaving of hammocks.
The last eight months were devoted to an intensive study of hammock
production in Cacalchén, a community of h,256 inhabitants located

in the heart of the henequen-growing region.

Alice Littlefield

Chapter l provides a general discussion of the characteris-
tics of artisan production in Mesoamerica and their relationships to
economic developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Variations in the organization of craft production are viewed as
determined by the extent of land concentration, the relations of
production existing in agriculture, the availability of labor, the
spread of mechanization, and the nature of the market.

Chapter 2 summarizes both the historical and the contem-
porary patterns of craft specialization and production in Yucatan.
Although some writers have described craft specialization as rela-
tively insignificant in the region, it is clear that it has become
increasingly important in recent years. Further, there are signifi-
cant continuities with the past, particularly in regard to the impact
of long-distance trade.

Chapter 3 attempts to identify and analyze the factors deter-
mining the local distribution of craft activities in contemporary
Yucatan, with special attention to demographic, agricultural, and
economic variables. Craft specialization emerges as an activity
strongly associated with low income. The analysis suggests that
characteristics of the natural environment may be less important in
explaining local variation in craft activity than historically based
systems of land tenure, p0pulation concentration, and distribution
of wealth.

Chapter A describes the relations of production in the hammock
industry which link merchants, middlemen, agents, and weavers; and

analyzes the distribution of returns among these participants. The

Alice Littlefield

concept of the rate of surplus-value is applied to the problem of
measuring the degree of exploitation of the direct producers by the
middlemen and merchants. The relations of production and distribu-
tion in the hammock industry are a part of, and are also influenced
by, the structures of ethnic and class stratification existing in
the region.

Chapter 5 provides a general description of the community of
Cacalchén, analyzing the characteristics of households involved in
hammock-weaving and the factors affecting levels of productivity.
The contributions of hammock-weaving‘UDthe household economy and the
standards of living of the weavers are examined through the detailed
analysis of the income and expenditures of five households.

The concluding chapter places the hammock industry in the
context of the process of capitalist economic development and class
differentiation in Yucatan, and attempts to draw some comparisons
and contrasts with systems of craft production elsewhere in Mexico
and with systems which existed during the early industrial period in
Europe. It is concluded that although bearing similarities to the
European situation, the developmental potential of industries organ-
ized in this way in Yucatan is limited by the nature of dependent

capitalism and of the regional class structure.

THE HAMMOCK INDUSTRY OF YUCATAN, MEXICO:

A STUDY IN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY

BY

Alice Littlefield

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Anthropology

I976

Copyright by
ALICE LITTLEFIELD

I976

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deep appreciation to Professor H. Scott
Cook, University of Connecticut, for the encouragement and guidance
provided throughout this research. To the other members of my com-
mittee, Professors Cheryl Ritenbaugh and Robert H. McKinley, Michigan
State University, go my sincere thanks for many valuable and thought-
ful suggestions on the content and organization of the manuscript.

The study was supported by Central Michigan University,
which also granted a leave of absence in l97l-I972 for carrying out
the research.

The original stimulus for the research was provided by the
I.N.A.H./M.S.U. Summer Research Project in Yucatan (I970), under the
direction of Professor Fernando Camara Barbachano of the Instituto
Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. I also wish to express my
.appreciation to Professor Alfredo Barrera Vésquez of the Instituto
Yucateco de Antropologia e Historia, Mérida, and to the other anthro-
pologists who provided assistance in various stages of the fieldwork.
Juan Ramon Bastarrachea, Elio Alcalé Delgado, Celinda Gomez Navarrete,
and James Ryder were especially helpful.

Invaluable assistance with the research was also provided
by many residents of Mérida, particularly Senor Leonardo Dajer and
Sefior Jorge Razu. Officials of the Secretaria de Agricultura y

Ganaderia, the Departamento de Asuntos Agrarios y Colonizacién, and

the Direccion General de Artesanias de Yucatan were also helpful in
making documentary materials available.

I am especially thankful for the assistance generously given
by my colleagues at Central Michigan University: Professors
R. Carlos Kirk and Martha G. Logsdon, who initiated me into the
mysteries of the computer, and Professor Hill Gates Rohsenow, who
read and commented on various parts of the draft. Their continual
encouragement and support in countless ways were indispensable to
the completion of this manuscript. I am also grateful to Professors
Janice M. Reynolds, Larry T. Reynolds, and Harry Webb for helpful
suggestions and comments on various parts of the work.

Most importantly, I wish to express my warmest thanks to the
people of Cacalchén for their hospitality and friendship, and to the
many individuals there and in other parts of Yucatan who provided the
substantive information for this study. Although they remain anony-
mous in this work, I am particularly grateful to the women of
Cacalchén, who Opened their homes to um: and trusted me with detailed
information about their daily lives.

Although this study could never have been written without the
help of friends, colleagues, and professors, I am entirely responsible

for any errors it may contain.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l

Regional Patterns of Craft Specialization . . . . . . 3

Sources of Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Research Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Plan of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2. ARTISAN PRODUCTION IN YUCATAN: HISTORICAL CONTINUITIES
AND DISCONTINUITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2A
Classic Maya Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Postclassic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Colonial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3A
The Independence Period . . . . . . . . . . A0
Artisan Production in Contemporary Yucatan . . . . . . A8
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

3. PATTERNS AND DETERMINANTS OF LOCAL CRAFT
SPECIALIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY YUCATAN . . . . . . . . 6“

Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Participation in Craft Production . . . . . . . . . 69
Demographic Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7]
Agricultural Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Other Economic Variables . . . . . . . . . . 7A

Demographic Characteristics and Participation in
Craft Production . . . . . . 75

Agricultural Characteristics and Participation in
Craft Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Henequen Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
The Maize Zone . . . . . . 87

Other Economic Characteristics and Participation
in Craft Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Chapter

A. RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE
HAMMOCK INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . .

Tools and Techniques . .
Materials and Measurements .
Design .

Relations of Production

City Merchants . .

Small-Town Middlemen .

Agents .

Weavers . .
Seasonal Fluctuations in Production
Marketing .

Distribution of. the Returns . .
The Hammock Industry, Ethnicity, and Class .

5. CACALCHEN: A VILLAGE OF WEAVERS .

The Setting

Village History . .

The Contemporary Economy .

Class and Ethnic Relations . .
Participation in Hammock Production

General Characteristics of Survey Households .

Variations in Productivity .
Adaptive Strategies: Five Families .

Teresa .

Dolores

Bartola

Angela .

Isabel . .

Dietary Patterns .

Summary

6. CONCLUSIONS

APPENDIX. VALUES 0F VARIABLES TESTED FOR SELECTED
MUNICIPIOS IN YUCATAN . . . .
LIST OF REFERENCES .

GLOSSARY .

Page

IOI

IOZ
IIO
ll2
lIS
ll6
I18
l26
I30
1314
I36
”II
IlIB

I56

157
157
I63
I72
I78
I82
189
201
203
207
209
215
219
226
229

237

257
258
267

Table

I0.

ll.

I2.

l3.

LIST OF TABLES

Participation in Craft Production by Population Size .
Participation in Craft Production by Population Density

Participation in Craft Production by Percent
Population Increase, I960-l970 .

Participation in Craft Production by P0pulation Size,
by Zone

Participation in Craft Production by Population
Density, by Zone .

Participation in Craft Production by Percent
Population Increase, l960-l970, by Zone

Participation in Craft Production by Average Annual
Yield Per Hectare of Henequen, in Kilograms,
l957-l970, Henequen Zone .

Participation in Craft Production by Average Annual Per
Capita Value of Henequen Production, in Pesos,
l967-l970, Henequen Zone .

Participation in Craft Production by Average Annual
Yield Per Hectare of Maize, in Kilograms, l96l- I970,
Henequen Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Participation in Craft Production by Average Annual
Yield Per Hectare of Maize, in Kilograms, I96I- I970,
Maize Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Participation in Craft Production by Average Annual

Per Capita Value of Maize Production, in Pesos,
I967-l970, Maize Zone

Participation in Craft Production by Percent
Reporting Incomes Over 200 Pesos Monthly .

Participation in Craft Production by Percent Reporting
Incomes Over 200 Pesos Monthly, by Zone

vi

Page
76

78

80

8I

82

8A

85

86

88

89

90

9|

Table
IA.

l5.

l6.

I7.

l8.

I9.

20.
2I.

22.

23.
2A.
25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

Participation in Craft Production by Percent of the
Population IO Years and Over Who Are Literate

Participation in Craft Production by Percent of the

Population IO Years and Over Who Are Literate, by Zone .

Summary of Values of Kendall's tau for Relationships of
Independent Variables to Participation in Craft
Production . . . . . . . .

Standard Measurements of Hammocks

Capital Investments in Hammock Materials by Small-
Town Middlemen .

Estimated Labor Times and Prevailing Wages for
Hammocks of Various Types and Sizes

Prevailing Prices for Finished Hammocks, Mérida, l97l-72 .

Proportion of Households Interviewed, by Quarter .

Proportion of Households Interviewed, by Distance
From Plaza .

Number of Paid Occupations, by Household Size
Years of Education of Children 7 to IA Years of Age 3.

Measures of Hammock Productivity for Households in
Three Ejido Work Groups

Occupational Characteristics of Households in Three
Ejido Work Groups

Partial Correlation Coefficients of Measures of Hammock
Productivity With Alternative Allocations of
Household Labor (Size of Household Labor Force
Held Constant) . .

Ratios of Small Children to Juvenile and Adult Females
and Ratios of Juvenile and Adult Males to Juvenile
and Adult Females in Three Ejido Work Groups .

Correlation Coefficients of Productivity Variables
With Household Composition Variables .

Teresa: Average Weekly Income and Expenses .

vii

Page

93

9A

96

II3

I23

I33
I39

I80

l8l
l8A
l88

I9I

I92

I9A

I98

I99

206

Table Page

3I. Dolores: Average Weekly Income and Expenses . . . . . . . 2lO
32. Bartola: Average Weekly Income and Expenses . . . . . . . 2I3
33. Angela: Average Weekly Income and Expenses . . . . . . . . 2l7
3A. Isabel: Average Weekly Income and Expenses . . . . . . . . 22A
35. Combined Incomes of Five Familes by Source . . . . . . . . 230
36. Combined Expenses of Five Families . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

viii

Figure

\IO‘U'I

LIST OF FIGURES

Mayan Sites of the Classic and Post-Classic Periods .

Craft-Producing Communities and Major Highways in
Contemporary Yucatan

Netting Technique Used in the Edge (Orilla) and Body

(Cuerpo) of the Hammock .

Loom (Bastidor) Used to Make Hammocks .

Shuttle (Aguja), Approximately One-Half Actual Size .

Two Alternate Methods for Making Arms (Brazos)
Making Loops
Communities Involved in Hammock-Production

Cacalchén and Neighboring Communities .

Page

29

A2

I03
IOA
IOA
I07
l09
l20

158

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A perusal of the ethnographic literature makes clear that
there is a characteristic pattern of craft production common to many
parts of Mesoamerica. The major features of this pattern, appear-
ing repeatedly in monographs on the area, consist in: (1) community
specialization in particular crafts, (2) production by domestic
units, (3) the combination of craft activity with (and often its
accommodation to) subsistence argiculture, and (A) the distribution
of craft products through local or regional systems of periodic
markets (Foster, I9A8; Tax, I952; Nash, I966). The antiquity of
handicraft specialization in the region is also clear, revealed in
the debris left by pre-Columbian workmen, the evidence of ancient
trade networks pieced together by archaeologists, and the descrip-
tions of conquistadores and missionaries of the early colonial period.
To be sure, some of the ancient crafts have largely disappeared, such
as the making of stone tools and weaponry, while others have incor-
porated European elements. Nevertheless, it is probably safe to say
that the four major features of the contemporary system, as outlined
above, have existed since pre-Conquest times in at least some parts
of the region.

Perhaps for this reason there has been a tendency in the
anthropological literature to treat craft production in Mesoamerica

l

as a relatively static aspect of Indian tradition. This tendency
reflects also the prevalence of synchronic and functional approaches
in the discipline as a whole. Some of the older studies in the dif-
fusionist tradition have been concerned with identifying the origins
of particular traits as either European or indigenous, and more
recently applied anthropologists have adopted diffusionist assump-
tions about how modernization will take place. But these approaches,
although they purport to be concerned with change, shed little light
on our understanding of the development or decline of craft special-
ization as an economic phenomenon, or the role it may play in dif-
ferent modes of production or different periods of economic evolu-
tion, including the ongoing transition from pre-capitalist to
capitalist modes of production. Rather, artisan production and the
market systems through which their products are distributed seem to
be seen as features of a timeless tradition, lacking in dynamism,
and, depending on one's sentiments, either as obstacles to moderni-
zation and development or quaint but doomed victims of the spread of
industrial manufacturing (Nash, I966, I967; Aguirre Beltran, I967:I52).
The development of theories of dependence, underdeveIOpment,
and internal colonialism by such writers as Frank (I967, I969),
dos Santos (I970), Cardoso (I972, l973), and others have called into
question many of the views heretofore taken for granted in economic
anthropology, and raised new questions about how particular peasant-
artisan modes of production articulate with, and indeed to some extent
are determined by, the needs of the dominant capitalist economy.

At the same time, there has been a shift in economic anthropology

from an emphasis on exchange to a greater concern with production.
Also, a new interest in evolutionary issues has been generated,
particularly a concern with the transition from pre-capitalist to
capitalist modes of production, and the forms that the relations of
production and distribution assume in this process (Cook, l97l;
Godelier, l972; Meillasoux, l972; Sahlins, l972; Terray, I972). In
terms of these evolutionary issues, then, how are we to understand
the role of artisan specialization in contemporary Mesoamerican

society?

Regional Patterns of Craft Specialization

 

Handicraft production as a community specialization and its
association with periodic market systems seem to be most character-
istic of highland regions of Mesoamerica with dense populations.
These systems have been described in some detail for the highlands
of Guatemala (Tax, I937; McBryde, I9A7; Bunzel, I959), the highlands
of Chiapas (Nash, I96]; Laughlin, I969), the Oaxaca Valley (Parsons,
I936; Malinowski and De la Fuente, I957; Cook and Diskin, I975), and
the Tarascan region of Western Mexico (West, l9A8; Foster, I967). A
similar pattern appears to exist to some extent in other parts of
the highlands.

By contrast, a rather different picture emerges for the low-
lands. There, community specialization is apparently uncommon and
periodic markets are less important.

While the general outlines of this highland-lowland distinc-

tion are clear, the reasons for it have received little consideration

beyond some ideas put forth by Tax two decades ago in Heritage of

 

Conquest (I952). There, drawing conclusions from his studies in
Guatemala, he suggests that community specialization is accounted
for largely by ecological diversity. In areas with considerable
topographical variation, semi-tropical and temperate climates exist
in close proximity. Nearby communities differ in the crops and ani-
mals which can be raised and in the natural resources available for
transformation, creating a situation where each locality can produce
those things for which it is best suited and obtain its other needs
through trade. A related factor, Tax suggests, is population density:
a community lacking sufficient cultivable land to support its p0pu-
lation will be forced to rely on such supplementary or alternative
economic activities as craft production, migratory labor, or inten-
sive cash cropping.

Lowland areas, on the other hand, tend to be more homogen-
eous ecologically and less densely settled, with presumably greater
self-sufficiency:

In homogeneous lowland regions each family and community tends
to produce what it consumes, and the same thing; whereas in
areas of variegated topography and altitude, there tend to be
local differences in resources, hence production. Such con-
siderations may generally explain differences between rural
Indian economic life in Yucatan and in highland Guatemala
(l952:AA).

Within the highland regions, however, factors other than
ecological ones are also assumed to play some role:

Handicraft arts are passed from parents to children, so that
continuance is assured in each community while the endogamous

tendencies of each tend to keep them exclusively in communi-
ties where they have started (A6).

. . Except for maize, there is no interest in being self-
sufficient; Indians [of highland Guatemala] generally prefer
occupations that will bring the most cash with which to buy
what they please. The whole question of reasons-for-
specialization may be tied up with this fact: nobody thinks
it worthwhile to try to make a mat, basket, pot, or chair for
his own use--thinking is done in terms of commerce (SI).

In summary, then, Tax's argument is that ecological diver-
sity and population density give rise to specialization, which in
turn gives rise to trade and markets, the complex as a whole persist-
ing through local tradition and habit of mind. Nash adopts the same
position in his analysis of the economic systems of Mesoamerican
Indians (I966, I967).

The issue of how specialization and markets come into being
is an evolutionary one and a definitive answer requires comparative
historical analysis beyond the sc0pe of this research, but certain
problems are immediately suggested in attempting to assess Tax's
theory. First, trade and specialization apparently existed in the
Maya lowlands in prehistoric times, and may even have been the basis
of political power (see the discussion in Chap. 2). Community
specialization and markets are also found in Yucatan today. Second,
although Tax argues that regional and community specialization give
rise to trade and markets, there is some reason to believe that the
reverse is closer to the truth: that is, that trade gives rise to
specialization. Although Tax characterizes the highland markets as
Indian markets, he later states ”there can be no doubt that a large
part of the market is a response of the Indians to Ladino customers”

(I952:55). Indeed, the picture he presents on this point is worth

quoting at some length:

It is not simply that some Indians are more Iadinoized and

have taken over Ladino ideas . . . but also that opportuni-
ties for entrepreneurs big and little are increased a hundred-
fold by the presence of Ladinos. . . . Thus Panajachelehos
wouldn't have a chance, nor a motive, to learn how to grow
strawberries for the tables of Ladinos. Thus the Pedrana women,
or the Maxefio women either, wouldn't have a sudden boom in cash
receipts from tourist-bought textiles. . . . For that matter,
without Ladinos the economy would be on much less a cash basis
to start with. . . (56).

 

The most striking effect of a p0pulation of Ladinos on the
economy of a community . . . is that the local market becomes
more important. . . (57).

Clearly, economic specialization among Indians is condi-
tioned by ethnic and class relations and cannot be adequately under-
stood in terms of the somewhat mechanical ecological approach Tax
suggests. But market relations are only a part of the picture. The
historical process by which ladinos or mestizos have appropriated
Indian lands, undermining the subsistence base of the indigenous
communities and pushing them into wage-labor and production for the
market, would have to be included in the explanatory framework
(Pozas and Pozas, I97I; Stavenhagen, I969). Tax himself hints at
the importance of this process:

. . . where land is communally owned it cannot be sold to
Ladinos or to Indians of other towns. San Marcos has appar-
ently not lost an inch of its milpa land, and the people are
relatively wealthy and grow all the maize they can without
worrying about land; on the other hand Santa Catarina has lost
a good portion of its land to Ladinos and a little to other
Indians; and now the town has to subsist in large part on what
it can earn from fishing and from working by the day (l952:6l).
From a certain point of view, then, Indian communities can be seen
as reserves of cheap labor providing workers for the plantations and

producing goods desired by ladinos or tourists. To phrase their

shortage of land in terms of "population density” is to mask the

inequalities in land distribution, both within and between ethnic
groupings, which condition economic activities.

Of course, not all craft specialization in Mesoamerica is
dependent on the non-Indian market. Some items (metates, certain
kinds of pottery and textiles) may be consumed largely by Indians.
Nor did craft specialization originate with the subjugation of
Indians by Europeans; we know that it played an important role in
the economy of the ancient civilizations. Nevertheless, if we are
to understand the growth, persistence, and/or decline of craft
specialization in contemporary times it cannot be as a natural outcome
of ecological diversity, nor as an atavistic survival of Indian cus-
tom, but as an aspect of the economy having its particular place in
the social division of labor brought into being by the expansion of
Western capitalism. As subsistence cultivators are forced into pro-
duction for the market by the diminution of landholdings they also
become consumers in the market: production for use is laid aside as
production for the market increases. The market relations among
weavers, potters, and metateros are determined increasingly by the
dominance of capitalist relations of production in the society as a
whole.

From this point of view, the emergence of craft specializa-
tion in Yucatan, a region of supposed ecological homogeneity, is not
a unique or inexplicable phenomenon, of a totally different order
from that to be found in the highlands. Both regions have been
subject to a greater or lesser extent to the general processes of

capitalist development, including class differentiation into a

bourgeoisie based on private ownership of the means of production
(including land), and a stratum of landless or semi-landless rural
workers (these classes frequently forming along ethnic lines).
Indeed, the degree to which the peasantry has been proletarianized
has been obscured to some extent by the tendency for the major
effects of class differentiation in the countryside to be felt out-
side the peasant community (Galeski, I972:IlA-ll5). The landless
laborers often leave the peasant village permanently, while the
semi-landless seek temporary wage work elsewhere. Likewise, accumu-
lation of wealth appears to be minimal because much of it leaves the
I
community in the form of rent, Interest, and merchant's profits.
Thus the peasant village often appears to be a relatively classless
society of independent small-holders engaged in subsistence agri-
culture and simple commodity production. But this fiction can be
maintained only by ignoring the community's relationships with the
Iargersociety.

The process of capitalist development is uneven and locally
varied, such that its effects on handicraft Specialization appear to
exhibit no consistent trend. Some craft activities are succumbing
to competition from factory-made goods, others are growing and chang-
ing in response to increasing demand, others have sprung up seemingly
overnight in response to the vast tourist market. In what follows
I shall attempt to identify what I see to be some of the major fac-
tors accounting for the variations from region to region and craft

to craft.

Sources of Variation

 

l. Extent of land concentration. As has been mentioned
above, communities heavily engaged in handicraft production tend to
be ones with an inadequate land base for subsistence agriculture.

In addition, within the community those with the least land tend to
rely most heavily on craft production, and vice versa (Diaz, I966;
Cook, I970). Thus, where an adequate land base and communal owner-
ship coexist one would expect to find little reliance on artisanship.
In apparent contradiction, however, artisan production is also mini-
mal where the process of land concentration has assumed an extreme
form--that is, the large plantation or hacienda. Some of the reasons
for this are discussed below under (2).

In Mexico, the liberal reforms of the nineteenth century
discouraged communal ownership of land by Indian villages and insti-
tuted private property, leading to widespread alienation of Indian
lands as mestizos and foreigners sought to invest in plantation
agriculture. The Mexican Constitution of l857 prohibited the hold-
ing of land by religious and civil groups. This measure was intended
to break up the large holdings of the Church, thereby creating a
class of small independent farmers. But the prohibition against
land-holding by civil groups also resulted in the partition of vil-
lage lands as private property among those who worked it. The new
proprietors frequently lost their holdings to creditors, land specu-
lators, and nearby haciendas. Meanwhile, the former Church lands
also passed, largely undivided, into the hands of large landowners

(Simpson, I937; Whetten, l9A8).

IO

The concentration of land in the hands of a few reached its
epitome under Porfirio Diaz. A law of I883 authorized acquisition

of unused public lands (terrenos baldios) by individuals and land

 

companies. Many of the lands declared empty or unused under this
scheme belonged in reality to Indian villages which had never
acquired legal title. New laws of l889 and l89O required the indigen-
ous communities to divide their lands and establish titles of private
ownership. In this situation the Indians became easy prey to the
land speculators. By l893 more than IO million hectares of Indian
land had passed into the hands of the large landowners under this
legislation. Other schemes of the Diaz period provided for the
leasing of large areas of land under timber and mining concessions,
and for irrigation concessions which deprived villagers of their
water rights (Gutelman, l97Az33-37). Womack (I970) provides a number
of examples of the techniques, legal and extra-legal, used by sugar
planters in Morelos to wrest lands away from the villages. By I9l0,
more than 92 percent of rural families in every state but one owned
no rural property whatsoever (Simpson, l937:32-33), while 88 million
hectares, representing AA percent of the cultivable land of Mexico
and most of the lands of good quality, were held by I0,000 haciendas
(Gutelman, l97AzAO).

The effects of this process of land concentration on craft
production would constitute an interesting problem for historical
analysis. The relationship of increased textile production to the
enclosure movement in England has been well-documented (Polanyi,

I957; Mantoux, l96l; Thompson, I963; Landes, I969), but there is

ll

3 significant difference between the two cases. Many of the large
estates in England were turned over to sheep production, an activity
requiring little labor. By contrast, the large estates in Meso-
america in the late nineteenth century often raised labor-intensive
crops such as sugar, coffee, or cotton. These plantations drew
heavily on the Indian villages for permanent and seasonal labor,
much of it involuntary. Apparently, the lands of the peasants were
sometimes seized not because they were desired for cultivation, but
in order to force the inhabitants to work on the owner's plantations
elsewhere (Gutelman, l97h:h3).

2. Organization of production in agriculture. The peasant
who owns a small holding or has rights to communal lands presumably
has a greater choice of economic activities than the landless argi-
culturalist. But even where land is concentrated in one or a few
hands, production relations may still assume a variety of forms:
land may be let out for money rent or on shares to peasant producers
with little or no land of their own. Under this arrangement the
domestic organization of production is preserved and the peasant
may retain considerable independence (unless obligated by contract
or debt, as frequently happens, to produce a given crop in a given
quantity). Under these circumstances, he and his family may pre-
sumably utilize any labor not absorbed in the cultivation of his
plots in supplementary economic activities, including craft produc-
tion. This is less likely to be the case in those instances where
the cultivator's right to till a subsistence plot depends on the

provision of labor services to the landowner.

l2

In the lowland regions of Mesoamerica large estates have
tended to be monocrop plantations oriented toward an export market,
in which the agricultural producer relates to the land solely as a
wage-laborer. In some areas, workers are hired only seasonally,
Spending the remainder of the year cultivating subsistence plots in
their own communities. Those estates with a permanent labor force
have often exhibited many of the characteristics of total institu-
tions, where labor is exploited to the maximum and every aspect of
the workers' lives is controlled rigidly by the owner or overseer
(Beckford, I972). The worker has little or no opportunity to engage
in production on his own, and in any case the absence of a middle
stratum of prosperous peasants and petty bourgeoisie leaves the
would-be artisan with a very restricted market for his products.

3. Availability of a supply of free labor. In the sense
in which the term is usually used, a labor force is deemed.“free”
to the extent that it is not forced (through institutions of serfdom,
slavery, etc.) and to the extent that it is separated from access
to the means of production and has thus no way of relating to the
productive process except through the sale of its labor-power.

Up until the present century the laws of both Guatemala and
Mexico upheld systems of debt peonage which were the basis of plan-
tation agriculture and which inhibited the free movement of labor
(Gutelman, I97“). In Yucatan a de facto system of slavery existed
in the henequen zone until l9l5 (Rodriguez, l966), and is still
referred to by the rural population as la época de esclavitud (the

time of slavery). Debt peonage also existed elsewhere in Mexico

l3

in the pre-revolutionary period, particularly in the Central Plateau
(McBride, l923), theValleNacional of Oaxaca (Turner, I969), and in
the plantation regions of Morelos and Veracruz (Womack, I970; Turner,
I969). In Guatemala in the latter part of the nineteenth century
labor was secured through the system of mandamientos, whereby Indian
villages would be ordered to provide a certain number of laborers
to the plantations for 20- or 30-day periods. This was later replaced
by a system of debt peonage wherein the obligation to work off accu-
mulated debts was passed on from father to son. In I934 debt peonage
was replaced by an anti-vagrancy law requiring landless and semi-
landless Indians to work a certain number of days on the plantations
each year. This law was in effect until I995 (Whetten, l96l).

In Europe the freeing of the peasantry from traditional
ties of serfdom is seen asia key factor in allowing the growth of
domestic industry and handicraft production which preceded the indus-
trial revolution. In Russia, artisan activity apparently flourished
in the aftermath of the abolition of serfdom in the 1860's (Lenin,
I964). Whether a comparable process followed the abolition of debt
peonage in Mesoamerica is not clear from the ethnographic studies.
In Mexico the combination of the freeing of labor with the redistri-
bution of lands and the reinstitution of communal tenure after the
Revolution of l9lO would seem to have encouraged agricultural rather

than artisan activity. Even so, most ejidatarios received plots too

 

small to provide for their subsistence and continued to depend on

wage labor or other supplementary economic activities.

IA

The effect of these historical changes on handicrafts remains
to be investigated. In any case, for rural handicraft production to
flourish labor must not only be freed from traditional obligations
of serfdom or debt peonage, but must exist in forms and in quanti-
ties which cannot be absorbed either in capitalist agriculture or in
urban industry. Several kinds of underemployed rural labor fit into
this category, but women and juveniles are particularly likely to.
find themselves in this situation. Employment Opportunities for
these groups are few and the wages they can command are minimal.
Craft production provides an alternative which, when performed at
home, has the additional advantage of not conflicting with other
domestic obligations such as child care. It is not surprising, then,
that a large number of craft activities depend heavily or exclusively
on the labor of women and children.

4. Spread of mechanization. In countries undergoing secon-
dary development the latest in machine technology may exist side-by-
side with ancient hand methods. The effects of this situation are
contradictory, but the ruin of handicrafts is not always the automatic
consequence. While some hand-made items have been replaced by cheap
industrial manufactures, it is necessary to distinguish between the
displacement of individual artisans and small workshops by cheap
manufactured goods brought in from outside, and the adoption of
aspects of modern technology by the artisans themselves. The use of
electrically powered carpentry tools in Paracho has been described
by Kaplan (I960). In weaving and pottery, chemical dyes or glazes are

now purchased rather than spending precious time making natural ones.

l5

Much ”hand“ embroidery is actually produced through skillful use of
the treadle sewing machine. Transport by truck and bus, the avail-
ability of corn mills, and electric lighting have considerably
increased the number of hours which can be devoted to craft produc-
tion. (The increase in output is not necessarily, of course, accom-
panied by an increase in the real income of the artisans.)

Obviously, there are limits to how far the artisan's work
can become mechanized before it loses its handicraft character alto-
gether. In any case, the persistence of hand methods will depend
to a considerable extent on the cheapness of labor. Where cheap
labor is in abundance hand-made goods can often be produced more
cheaply than machine-made ones.

5. Changing nature of the market. Craft activity obviously
cannot flourish unless there is a demand for its products, and in
Mesoamerica production has been enormously stimulated and its inter-
nal characteristics greatly altered by the growth of the tourist
market. It is probably impossible to estimate the proportion of craft
production which depends on tourism, but three general situations can
be delineated in terms of the nature of the market:

a. Production of items consumed primarily by the peasant
p0pulation (certain kinds of pottery, metates, baskets, net bags,
hand-woven cloth for Indian costumes). This type has already
declined considerably in some areas as the consumption of mass-
produced goods increases. In those areas where it persists, it
tends to take the form of simple commodity production by household

units which also cultivate the land, and marketing involves few

l6

middlemen. The apparent lack of dynamism in these industries reflects
the poverty of the peasant population whose restricted incomes limit
their consumption. As some of these items become drawn into the
tourist trade changes in the organization of production and market-
ing follow.

b. Production of items for an expanding middle stratum of
petty bourgeoisie, prosperous peasants, and better-paid workers.
Furniture-making in Paracho and shoe-making in Yucatan (Thompson,
I970) seem to fit into this category. Compared with type (a) above,
industries of this sort seem to have greater potential for evolving
into true capitalist enterprises employing mechanization, wage labor,
and a more complex division of labor within the production process.
Marketing increasingly involves the operations of middlemen and much
of the output is produced under contract for dealers. Under the
impact of competition these enterprises tend to increase in size and
diminish in number, losing their handicraft character and taking on
that of industrial manufacturing.

c. Production of items for tourists and for export to for-
eign dealers. A number of traditional Indian crafts have been
absorbed into this market, changing considerably the organization
of production and marketing. While similar in some ways to type (b),
there are significant differences. First, the tourist market is
generally more lucrative for dealers and tends to attract consider-
able amounts of merchant capital. Second, the large scale of the
tourist and foreign markets tends to encourage the concentration of

marketing in a few hands, since the larger dealers can more easily

I7

maintain large inventories, handle the problems involved in acquir-
ing export licenses, deal with customers in a foreign language, etc.
Third, in spite of the large amount of capital attracted and the
size of the profits, the growth of mechanization is inhibited by the
fact that in many cases it is precisely the hand-made nature of the
article which attracts the tourist buyers. This means that the
organization of production into workshops and factories is also
inhibited in many cases. Instead, dealers tend to assure a steady
supply by contracting with producers, often extending credit or
provisioning materials through a putting-out system. Sub-contractors
are used, who may in turn employ their own agents. Although contin-
uing to work in the home, the artisan loses his or her independence
and becomes a piece-rate worker dependent on the merchant.

In any given industry elements of all three types outlined
above may coexist and overlap. To date, the ethnographic.litera-
ture has tended to concentrate on type (a) situations to the exclu-
sion of the other two. While Mexico may be unusual in terms of the
volume of tourism, other countries also produce craft goods on a
large scale for the U.S. market (e.g., India, the Phillipines). The
organization of production and marketing in handicraft industries
reflects the emergence of this international system of stratifica-
tion and the dependent position of these countries within that
system.

In summary, the evolution of artisan production in Mesoamerica
has been conditioned by the extent of land concentration, the organi-

zation of production in agriculture, the growth of free labor, the

l8

expansion of mechanization, and the nature of the market. All of
these interact among themselves and, in turn, reflect the nature and
rate of capitalist deveIOpment in the larger society. The uneven-
ness of this development and its particular local characteristics
result in regional variation in the organization of production and
marketing in handicraft industries. The differences between the
highlands and lowlands in this regard reflect in part the historical
process whereby penetration of the lowlands by capitalist agriculture,
attendant upon improvements in land and marine transport and the
expansion of U.S. and EurOpean capital, tended to take the form of
monocrop plantation agriculture producing commodities for export and
depending on quasi-slave labor.

In terms of the explanatory framework adopted here, craft
activity in Mesoamerica is seen not merely as a survival of pre-
capitalist economic forms, but as an activity whose persistence and
development in contemporary times are to be explained in terms of
the general processes of class differentiation and division of labor
under capitalist development, and the subsumption of pre-capitalist
modes of production by capitalist ones. In this sense the economic
evolution of craft production in Mesoamerica has its parallel in the
early industrial period in Europe. Unlike Europe, however, Meso-
america holds a position of dependence in a world system dominated
by already developed industrialized countries. As a result, only a
few of its industries have experienced an indigenous “industrial

revolution” exhibiting the various stages from simple commodity

19

production by peasant-artisans to the mechanized capitalist enter-

prise with a complex division of labor.

Research Objectives

 

The aim of the research was to investigate the hammock
industry of Yucatan in light of the scheme outlined above. The ham-
mock industry was chosen for study for a number of reasons. First,
it is one of the most widespread and economically important craft
activities in Yucatan today, and one which has grown rapidly in
response to increased tourist and domestic demand. Traditionally,
hammocks were produced for use in each village using locally avail-
able henequen fiber. The spread of hammock weaving as an important
local specialization and source of cash income is largely a recent
phenomenon (within the past two decades) and relies not on raw
materials of local origin but on manufactured cotton yarn.

Second, the hammock-weavers do not operate as independent
artisans, purchasing materials and selling finished products in a
competitive market-place, as is characteristic of peasant-artisans
described for other parts of Mesoamerica. Rather, the bulk of the
industry is organized as a putting-out system: women in rural vil-
lages receive yarn on consignment, weave hammocks at home, and receive
piece-rate wages for their labor. This system does not represent a
gradually growing economic dependence of formerly independent arti-
sans on middlemen, as seems to be the case among weavers in Tlaxcala
(Nutini, I968) and potters in Jalisco (Diaz, I966). Rather, the
bulk of the weavers are women who have been recently recruited into

the industry.

20

Putting-out systems have been described for many parts of
Europe in the earliest stages of the industrial revolution, but
little attention has been given them in the ethnography of Meso-
america. It is my belief that such arrangements are becoming increas-
ingly common in the region as the tourist and export markets expand.

Third, weavers involved in the hammock industry are found
both in the peasant villages of the southern part of the state,
oriented toward subsistence maize cultivation, and in the villages
of the northwest, long dependent on the cultivation of henequen for
export. The latter region is characterized by large plantations and
large state-controlled collective farms; subsistence cultivation is
relatively insignificant. The similarities in the organization of
hammock production in these two regions suggest the importance of
supra-local processes in stimulating the spread of the industry.

The overall aim of the study, then, is two-fold. 'First, it
provides a detailed description of artisan production of a type
(the putting-out system) and in a region (Yucatan) largely neglected
in the literature on craft specialization in Mesoamerica. Second,
it attempts to analyze the growth and characteristics of the hammock
industry in the context of the ongoing process of capitalist economic

development and class differentiation in Yucatan.

Methodology

 

My first acquaintance with hammock production in Yucatan came
in the course of a brief visit to the community of Cacalchén in the

summer of I970, in connection with a field training program jointly

2|

sponsored by Michigan State University and the Instituto Nacional de
AntrOpologia e Historia. In August of l97l I returned to Yucatan

to begin a year-long study of the hammock industry. The first four
months were spent interviewing merchants and dealers in Mérida (the
capital and largest city of the region) and making periodic visits
to Cacalchén and other communities involved in hammock production in
order to map out the network which linked city merchants, small-
town dealers and agents, and the weavers. From January to August of
I972 I lived in Cacalchén and focused on an intensive study of ham-
mock production in that community. Cacalchén was an attractive choice
for a number of reasons. The community is one of the largest pro-
ducers of hammocks in Yucatan, with participation in the industry
growing rapidly in the past 20 years. Also, it is located in the
heart of the henequen zone, thus providing an opportunity to observe
artisan activity as an adjunct to monocrop plantation agriculture
among a proletarianized rural population.

During my residence in Cacalchén, several research techniques
were used. A survey of lOS households involved in hammock weaving
provided information on the characteristics of weavers, rates of pay,
levels of production, and the relationship of weaving to other econ-
omic activities. Several people working as agents, distributing
hammock materials for merchants, were also interviewed. Participant-
observation and informal interviewing provided general ethnographic
information about the community.

Detailed household budgets were kept for five selected

families over a two-month period. These budgets provided quantifiable

22

data for clarifying the importance of hammock weaving in the domestic
economy, as well as data on consumption patterns. The frequent con-
tact with these five families while gathering the budget data also
helped to overcome some of the problems involved in establishing
contacts and rapport in a class-stratified community of over 4,000
people.

While residing in Cacalchén I continued to conduct periodic
interviews with hammock merchants in Mérida and middlemen in other
towns in order to derive estimates of the quantity of production in
different towns and to delineate local variations in the organiza-

tion of the industry.

Plan of the Study

 

Chapter 2 provides an historical context for this study by
summarizing past patterns of craft specialization and production
organization in Yucatan. Patterns of artisan production in con-
temporary Yucatan are also described, pointing out certain continui-
ties with the past. Chapter 3 attempts to identify and analyze the
factors responsible for the local distribution of craft activities in
contemporary Yucatan. In order to test the general propositions of
previous writers about ecological stimuli giving rise to craft
specialization, an effort was made to relate the participation in
craft production of Yucatecan communities to demographic, agricul-
tural, and economic variables.

Chapter 4 describes the relations of production in the ham-

mock industry which link merchants, middlemen, agents, and weavers,

23

and analyzes the distribution of returns among these participants.
Chapter 5 provides a general description of the community of
Cacalchén and analyzes the data provided by the household survey
and the intensive study of five families. I

The concluding chapter places the hammock industry in the
context of the process of capitalist economic development and class
differentiation in Yucatan, and attempts to draw some comparisons
and contrasts with systems of craft production elsewhere in Meso-
america and with systems which existed during the early industrial

period in Europe.

CHAPTER 2

ARTISAN PRODUCTION IN YUCATAN:

HISTORICAL CONTINUITIES AND DISCONTINUITIES

Introduction

Yucatan has traditionally been regarded by ethnologists as
a region of ecological and cultural homogeneity where craft special-
ization and markets have been relatively unimportant, particularly
by contrast with the nearby Maya highlands. Redfield, for example,
writes:

Among the Maya peoples of the highlands of Guatemala there
is an important regional specialization of production and an
extensive interchange of native products in large fixed markets,
all this apparently ancient and independent, in large part, of
factory manufacture and of international commerce. In Yucatan,
on the other hand, local agricultural products are few; native
markets as distinguished from stores are almost nonexistent;
and most of the manufactured products bought and sold have
been manufactured in Merida or in Mexico or the United States.
Although it may have been different in pre-Hispanic times, the
Maya villagers have little commercial heritage (l94l:l56).

Considerable evidence now exists to indicate that the situa-
tion was not always thus, and in recent years craft specialization
has been assuming increasing importance in the peninsula.

The pages which follow present a brief history of economic
organization and artisan activity in the lowland Maya region. This
historical review focuses on the issues of specialization and trade,
and attempts to assess their importance during the various epochs

for which data are available. The nature and quality of the evidence

24

25

are highly variable, and the conclusions or interpretations offered
here are necessarily rather tentative for much of the period covered.
Nevertheless, a number of continuities and discontinuities stand
out.

The latter part of the chapter describes craft production in
contemporary Yucatan, and the forms of organization to be found in

its various branches.

Classic Maya Civilization

 

Although the characteristics of Classic Maya civilization
are still the subject of much debate, it is clear that trade played
an important role in provisioning the Classic Maya sites with cer-
tain necessities locally unavailable, as well as providing a great
variety of luxury goods (Rathje, l97l, I973; Tourtellot and Sabloff,
I972). Data from numerous lowland Maya sites are now sufficient to
allow a fairly detailed picture of the principal items traded and
their probable points of origin. It is evident that well-organized
trade networks linked the lowlands with the highlands of Mexico and
Guatemala, as well as linking together various lowland regions.

A consensus has developed among scholars that this long-
distance trade played an important role in Classic Maya civilization,
some authors going so far as to argue that it constituted the primary
basis of elite power (Rathje, l97l; Webb, I973). Rathje's argument,
briefly summarized, is that the core area of the Classic Maya civili-
zation, the Petén, was dependent on the importation of certain items
(salt, obsidian, hard-stone metates) essential to the subsistence

economy, but that they lacked rare or unique resources to offer in

26

exchange for these necessities. Rathje argues that ”the only scarce
resources that lowland core areas have to market for strategic goods
are the by-products of superior socio-political organization“
(l97l:278). Thus they developed craft specialties, exporting poly-
chrome pottery, finely worked ornaments of jade and shell, and pos-
sibly such perishables as decorated textiles, carved wooden objects,
featherwork, and so on. The export of esoteric knowledge (calendrics,
glyphic writing, stone carving) is also assumed to have played its
part.

The importance of craft specialties has also been emphasized
by Thompson. In discussing trade between the lowlands and the high-
lands, he asserts:

. . . one is struck by the rarity of manufactured products
among highland exports. These are largely confined to lava
metates and manos, the working of which was far from intri-
cate. 0n the other hand, lowland exports, although they
included many raw materials, embraced many artistic and skill-
fully worked products such as worked jade and flint, polychrome
pottery, and finely woven textiles. This confirms the general
archaeological picture that in the arts the lowlanders were
streets ahead of their highland cousins (Thompson, l970:l58).
This finding is particularly interesting in view of the commonly held
assumption that the homogeneous environment of the lowlands discouraged
specialization. It seems likely that the production of these craft
exports was in the hands of full-time specialists (Sanders, l973:348),
but there is less agreement concerning the importance of craft
specialization and organized trade on the local level, particularly
in utilitarian goods for peasant use. Tourtellot and Sabloff are of

the opinion that it was little developed:

We . . . postulate that in the uniform environment of the
southern lowlands, there was neither local differences in

27

basic useful substances, nor local specialization in produc-
tion. There is no evidence for economic specialization of com-
munities, and little evidence for full-time specialization
within them (l973:l3l).
Sanders points out that there is no evidence at Tikal of craft bar-
rios of the sort discovered at Teotihuacan, and the one structure
tentatively identified as a market is remarkably small for a commu-
nity of Tikal's supposed size (l973:353). On the other hand, the
items most likely to have been locally traded are perishable goods
such as foodstuffs, forest products, and cotton textiles, and these
have not been preserved for the archaeologist to discover. This is
certainly the case for the important items of trade at the time of
the Conquest. Also, most utilitarian ceramics have yet to be analyzed
closely enough to shed light on the question of local specialization.
Scientific data are scant concerning micro-environmental
variability in the lowlands and its significance for agricultural
potentials, but there are indications that the assumption of envi-
ronmental uniformity may require considerable modification. Certainly
the lowlands do lack the dramatic topographical variation of the
highlands. There are, nevertheless, significant variations in
access to marine and riverine resources, soil types, amount of rain-
fall, and vegetation. Stevens indicates significant variability in
soils in terms of texture, laterization, leaching, drainage, acidity,
thinness, stoniness, erosiveness, and mineral content (l964:299-305).
Shimkin points out that annual precipitation varies from ll4 inches
in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, to 35 inches at Campeche on the Gulf

of Mexico (l973:275-76). Local variations in the duration of the dry

season also must have affected agricultural possibilities.

28

In a recent re-evaluation of the cultural ecology of the
Lowland Maya, Sanders admits that the area I'is not quite as homo-
geneous an environment as some writers, including the present author,
had considered” (l973:335-336), and goes on to suggest that under
conditions of increasing population density, ”minor ecological vari-
ations become important and patterns of local specialization are
encouraged, even in an area of relatively homogeneous environment''
(350). In response to increasing numbers, centers such as Tikal
may have shifted to shorter fallowing periods and placed greater
emphasis on craft production, thus becoming dependent on trade for
the acquisition of forest products and supplemental foodstuffs from
outlying communities, as well as dried or salted fish from the coast.
Extensive remains of terraces and raised fields in the Rio Bec
region are testimony to the development of intensive cultivation
techniques in the Late Classic (Turner, I974). Significantly,
Sanders argues that the extent of craft specialization would be
affected by the emergence of social class distinctions as well as by
demographic pressures.

The evidence would seem to indicate that there were full-time
specialists producing craft goods, but it is possible that these
individuals were not numerous. If, in fact, craft Specialization
was limited to items of elite consumption intended for long-distance
trade, while utilitarian objects were produced by each community for
its own use, then it seems likely that craftsmen were attached as
dependents to members of the elite rather than working as independent

commodity producers selling their products or their labor power in

29

N
Gulf of
Mexico
'Motul
‘ Chichén Itzé
' Mani Cozumel
CAMPECHE
Bacalar .
Chetumal
Rio Bec '
PETEN
' Tikal
Gulf of
Honduras
HONDURAS

Figure l.--Mayan sites of the Classic and Post-Classic periods.

30

accord with market principles. In the absence of evidence for market
sites, most writers have assumed a redistributive system controlled
by the elites and perhaps organized along lineage lines (Culbert,
I973). The possibility of some local market exchange, however,

cannot be excluded on the basis of presently available data.

The Postclassic

 

After the decline of Classic Maya centers in the southern
lowlands about the tenth century A.D., trade routes and centers
shifted to the northern lowlands, to the Tabasco coast and northern
Yucatan. Rathje and Sabloff hypothesize that during the early
Postclassic, Toltecs or Mexicanized Maya invaded northern Yucatan
and established a large trading empire based at Chichén Itzé
(l973:227). The shift of population away from the land-locked
southern lowlands to the northern coastal areas was apparently
accompanied by a parallel shift from overland trade routes to water-
borne trade. Certainly by the time of the Conquest the bulk of long-
distance trade was transported in large sea-going canoes, and the
Maya (although politically fragmented by this time) were in control
of this trade from the Tabasco coast to Honduras. Important ports
or points of transshipment included Xicalango on the Tabasco coast
(the eastern terminal for Aztec-Culhua traders), Cozumel, and Bacalar
(Thompson, I970; Roys, I957).

Cotton mantles, wax, honey, salt, flint knives, copal incense,
and feathers were exported from Yucatan to Mexico and Honduras in

exchange for cacao, stone beads, and objects of gold and copper.

3l

Slaves (usually captured in warfare) were also an important commod-
ity, taken to Honduras and Tabasco and exchanged for cacao. Through-
out the region, cacao was in use as a form of money, exchangeable

for most other items. Imports from the highlands included objects

of obsidian and hard-stone metates (Thompson, I970; Tozzer, l94l).

Locally, salt and fish from the coast were exchanged for
game, fruit, and maize from inland communities. Patterns of local
specialization are somewhat obscure, aside from the concentration of
salt production and fishing along the north coast. Apiculture was
especially important in Chetumal and Cozumel (Roys, I957). Copal
trees were grown in a few restricted localities, especially Sinsimato
(exact location unknown, but possibly close to the present-day
Colonia Yucatan) and Mani (Tozzer, l94l; Roys, I957). Copal incense
was an important trade item and was used for ceremonial purposes, as
was black wax, which occurs only in the vicinity of copal trees
(Tozzer, l94l:75, I97). The production of cacao and vanilla was
concentrated in the southeastern part of the peninsula.

Though cotton was apparently widely grown, there Ls also
mention of cotton vendors going from one town to another (Tozzer,
l94l:62,200). Several of the early observers commented on the multi-
colored mantles, huipiles, and loin cloths produced in large quan-
titles for trade. Motul appears to have been an especially important
center for the production of textiles. Weaving was done by women,

and probably was not a full-time specialty.

32

Many questions remain about the nature of the economic
system. Landa described specialization, trade, and markets as
follows:

The trades of the Indians were making pottery and carpenter-
ing. They earned a great deal by making idols out of clay and
wood, with many fasts and Observances. There were also sur-
geons, or to be more accurate, sorcerers, who cured with herbs
and many superstitious rites. And so it was with all the other
professions. The occupation to which they had the greatest
inclination was trade, carrying salt and cloth and slaves to
the lands of Ulua and Tabasco, exchanging all they had for
cacao and stone beads, which were their money; and with this
they were accustomed to buy slaves, or other beads, because
they were fine and good, which their chiefs wore as jewels in
their feasts; and they had others made of certain red shells
for money, and as jewels to adorn their persons; and they car-
ried it in purses of net, which they had, and at their markets
they traded in everything which there was in that country.
They gave credit, lent and paid courteously and without usury

(Tozzer, l94l:94-96).

Although this excerpt suggests a monetized market economy
in which large quantities of goods were produced as commodities for
market exchange, it could also be interpreted as suggesting an
economic system rather like that of the Trobriand Islanders. Roys
(I957) finds evidence of important markets, but we do not know how
large they were, how often they met, nor whether they specialized in
long-distance trade only or included significant amounts of local
trading. Within local communities, reciprocity was apparently
important:

The Indians have the good habit of helping each other in all
their labors. At the time of sowing those who do not have
their own people to do their work, join together in groups of
twenty, or more or less, and all together they do the work of
all of them [each doing] his assigned share, and they do not
leave it until everyone's is done. The lands today are com-
IMNT property, and so he who first occupies them becomes the

possessor of them. . . . They also joined together for hunting
in companies of fifty more or less, and they roast the flesh

33

of the deer on gridirons, so that it shall not be wasted, and
when they reach the town, they make their presents to their
lord and distribute the rest as among friends. And they do
the same in their fishing (Tozzer, l94l:96-97).

Fish was salted, dried, or roasted and then taken inland

”twenty or thirty leagues for sale” (I90). Salt, on the other hand,
was extracted by expeditions sent to the coast for this purpose:

Four or five months after the rains are over, when the lagoon

is somewhat dry, the Indians formerly had the custom of going

to get salt. . . . They had for this purpose their places

marked out in the lagoon itself. . . . And they were accustomed

not to make this harvest of salt without the permission of the

lords who in those places had most right by proximity. And to

these all those who came for salt made some small offering,
whether of the salt itself or of things from their own lands.

(189).
More distant communities acquired salt through trade.

Tribute to the lords was also paid in other forms, as indi-

cated in the following passage:

. all the town did their sowing for the nobles; they also
cultivated them [the fields] and harvested what was necessary
for him and his household. And when there was hunting or fish-
ing, or when it was time to get their salt, they always gave
the lord his share, since these things they always did as a
community (87)-

It is not clear whether the lords were able in this manner to accumu-
late sufficient surpluses to use in external trade. Juan Bote,
encomendero of Teabo, wrote in l58l that the tribute formerly given
to the Tutul Xius, the rulers of Mani,
was very little-~chickens, maize, honey, and some cotton cloth-
ing, as each could or wished to give--more the ceremonial
recognition of their lordship than tribute (Colecci6n de Docu-
mentos Inéditos, l898z287-88; my translation).
Tozzer finds evidence that slave labor was employed in the fishing

industry (I90), and it is possible that slave labor may have been

used in other productive activities as well.

34

Existing evidence would seem to indicate that the economy

of the Postclassic was one in which communal production and redis-
tribution within each province or principality coexisted with a not
unimportant market system. Whether peasants and craftsmen produced
for the market on their own initiative or were controlled in this
matter by members of the elite is not clear. Landa's observations
suggest that market exchange included local trade as well as long-
distance trade, and that tribute and slave labor were used by elites
for commercial purposes as well as for their own subsistence and for
internal redistribution. Merchants and nobles were often the same

persons, and merchants were held in high esteem in Maya society.

The Colonial Period
0n the whole, Yucatan presented the conquistadores with
limited commercial opportunities compared with other parts of New
Spain. It lacked precious metals, and the soil and climate were
unsuitable for most European crops. After the conquest of the penin-

sula in l542, encomiendas were granted and a system of tribute

 

established. This institution allowed the Spaniards to tap the sur-
plus production of the Indian communities, and the encomienda became
the basis for Spanish commerce.

The most important tribute items were maize and cotton cloth.
The first was a dietary staple for Indian and European alike. The
second became a significant export item.

Until ISSZ, the tribute paid by each married couple consisted

of l.5 mantas of cotton cloth per year, plus chickens, pots, chile,

35

wax, maize, and other subsistence items. According to Roys, coastal
communities were assessed tributes of salt and fish (I957).

The reassessment of l552 cut these in half, each tributary
unit of man and wife being required to pay 3 piernas of cotton cloth
(I manta = 4 piernas) and other items equalling a total value of
24 reals or 3 pesos (Hunt, l974:298-99).

In l58l the encomendero of Teabo, Juan Bote, wrote:

The tribute which the Indians of these provinces at present
give to their encomenderos is, every four months, one length

of cotton cloth of four varas in length and three cuartas in
width and one pound of wax, and at the end of the year one-half
fanega of maize, one native fowl, and other items--garlic,
beans, honey, pots, griddles, ropes, water buckets--all of
which are given to the said encomenderos as tribute. With

the cloth and wax we Spaniards pay the debts which we owe to
the merchants for the goods they have given us, and they send
them to New Spain to sell and with the proceeds bring to these
provinces the goods which we need. This is the trade which

the Spaniards and natives have in these provinces at the present
which sustains and maintains them (Coleccién:29l-92; my trans-
lation).

In l583 the tribute was further reduced to two piernas, and
standardized to include only three items: cotton cloth, maize, and
chickens. Total assessment per unit was l9 reals, including one for
the municipal treasury. These new rates persisted throughout the
seventeenth century (Hunt, l974:l98-99).

Since the tribute was paid in kind, its actual market value
varied but was usually much higher than the official valuation. This
was particularly the case with the mantas, which were the primary
exportable item obtained through tribute.

Many encomenderos also acquired private cattle ranches,

particularly in the areas immediately surrounding Merida, Campeche,

36

and Valladolid. A limited number of native workers were employed on
these ranches, but land was plentiful during this period and the
activities of cattle ranches impinged little on the life of the Maya
villages. The cattle produced meat for consumption by the Spaniards
and hides for export to Cuba. Other exports during the Colonial
period included salt, wax, sisal cordage, logwood (used for dyes),
indigo, and cochineal.
Encomenderos were not the only exploiters of Indian labor.
The priests also collected tribute from the Indians consisting of
two piernas of cotton cloth from each woman and two pounds of wax
from each man annually, plus an egg from each child every Thursday
(Hunt, l974:30l). In addition, the encomendero was required to pay
IO percent of his gross in mantas for the support of the priest.
The priest could also exact labor from the Indians for the church
and his own building needs. In I636, Tixkokob paid a priest approxi-
mately l,400 pesos from a population of 3,l40. The Franciscan monas-
tery in Izamal had an income of 2,000 pesos, as did those of Tekax,
Mani, and Ticul. Motul brought in l,579 pesos. This compared with
3,000 to 4,000 pesos for the richest encomiendas (Hunt, l974:3ll-l2).
Another institution which tapped the surplus production of

the Indian communities was the repartimiento. In Yucatan, this term

 

referred to a form of trade in which the Indians were forced to buy
Spanish goods in exchange for cotton cloth and corn. The reparti-

miento went hand in hand with military activity. The governor main-
tained military contingents in the settled areas along the frontier,

presumably to defend them against the unpacified Indians. In actuality,

37

they served his economic aims. The capitanes a guerra forced barter

 

of this type on the native population:
Under certain circumstances, they were given raw materials such
as thread or cotton to be manufactured into cotton cloth to
pay for the goods they received. The system could involve
primarily the distribution and sale of goods, or only its cot-
tage manufacturing aspects (the cutting of dyewoods or fine
woods was substituted wherever they were obtainable), or both.
In any case, the repartimiento was a form of forced tribute
separate and distinct from the encomienda (Hunt, l974:467).
These expeditions often had the dual purpose of exacting tribute and
capturing runaways from the pacified areas. The tribute subsidized
the paid military positions of the capitanes as well as precondi-
tioning the frontier Indians for conquest and encomienda.

Such exactions were also made in thoroughly pacified areas
already under encomienda. In I690 the Indian cacigue of Tixkokob
was jailed on the charge that he had not been able to deliver in its
entirety the tribute for that year; his accusers included the capitén
a guerra as well as the administrator of the encomienda (Hunt, I974:
479)-

Commerce from pueblo to pueblo, carried on by Spaniards,
mestizos, blacks, and pardos (mulattoes) began early in the colonial
period. They bought up corn, cotton, wax, and mantas, the same
articles sought by encomendero, priest, and military officer. The
wills of these merchants often list the debts which were owed to
them by the Indians. Whether obtained through tribute or trade,
corn and mantas were sold in Mérida to the highest bidder, or shipped
on to Veracruz or Havana.

Spanish merchants often employed slaves (frequently women)

brought in from Cuba, as agents in the countryside. These individuals

38

also traded on their own accounts, and sometimes purchased their
freedom.

Aside from the cattle estates, the basis of the Spanish
colonial economy was the surplus agricultural and craft production
extracted from the Indian village. Encomendero, estate owner, mer-
chant, and inilitary officer were often the same person or members
of the same family; through these various means the Spaniards main-
tained a monopoly on commerce, both between villages and with other
regions. The intensity of these various activities, including trade,
tribute, and cattle raising, seems to have been closely related to
proximity to Mérida, with lesser centers at Vallodolid and Campeche.

Directly or indirectly Indian labor supported the entire
structure.

I They tilled the fields of their pueblos, from which the encom-
enderos obtained, as tribute, by far the major part of the food
which maintained them and their families, they wove mantas and
other textiles, tended the livestock on the haciendas, labored
in the construction of public buildings, churches, monasteries,
private dwellings, and roads. They worked on the haciendas
and in such industries as the Spaniards established. They pro-
vided the means of transport where pack animals and wheeled
vehicles could not pass. They also served the Spaniards in
their homes as servants and provided the labor each Spanish
municipality required for public service. They likewise served
the churches and monasteries and gave the labor for the agri-
cultural, pastoral and other activities the friars carried on
(Chamberlain, l966z336).

Especially during the early colonial period, when depopulation from
European diseases was accompanied by heavy demands for labor to
construct churches and monasteries, these burdens must have imposed

severe hardships on the indigenous population. The frequent com-

plaints about runaways are some evidence of this.

39

The labor of women was equally or more important than that
of men, since women produced the valuable mantas. There were vari-
ous attempts over the years to gather native women into workshops
but these seem to have had little success. More commonly, merchants
advanced goods to the Indians, the debts to be paid off in corn or
mantas, or cotton was given out to be made up into cloth and returned
to the merchant. As we shall see, this method of organizing produc-
tion has its parallel in the hammock-weaving industry of the present
day.

Little information is available about local specialization
during this period. Cotton cultivation was apparently concentrated
in the region surrounding Valladolid; merchants bought it up there
and sold it in villages closer to Mérida. Some communities special-
ized in the cultivation of henequen, using the fiber to make rope,
net bags, and hammocks (Strickon, I965).

There are remarkable continuities in agricultural and craft
production from the pre-Columbian period. Maya villagers continued
to practice mfilp§_agriculture using largely pre-Columbian slash-and-
burn techniques. Though few European cultigens were adopted, chickens,
pigs, and some cattle were raised by Indians for their own use. Cacao,
presumably from Tabasco and Chetumal, continued to serve as money
and was used for everyday purchases in Yucatan (Moreno Toscano, I968).

The encomienda system lasted longer in Yucatan than else-
where, but over time commerce and cattle-raising assumed greater
importance as economic bases for the creole class. Both were stimu-

lated by the gradual but steady growth of the European population.

40

When the encomienda system was finally abolished in Yucatan
in I785 the cattle estates had already established a system of debt
peonage with both resident and non-resident peons. The resident
peons worked full-time for the owner; the non-residents worked one
or two days a week in return for the use of water from the hacienda's
wells or a piece of land controlled by the hacienda (Strickon, I965;
Reed, I964).

The decline of cotton cultivation and weaving in Yucatan began
toward the end of the colonial period.

The Bourbon reforms crippled the industry, the abuses of which
were known and lamented. After free trade was permitted in
I778, cheaper foreign cloth began to displace the Yucatecan;
suppression of the encomiendas in l785-86, payment of tribute
by cash rather than goods, and amelioration of repartimiento
practices following I787 all helped to reduce output of native
cloth to negligible amounts (Cline, I947:50).

The indigenous patterns of trade and marketing among Indian
communities seem to have been replaced in the colonial period by a
system of trade and tribute dominated by Spaniards and their mulatto
and mestizo agents. As we shall see, there are certain continuities
in this process down to the present day.

Whether local Indian markets disappeared quickly or persisted
for some time is not clear from the evidence. Some local trade among
Indians must have persisted if they were to meet their tribute obliga-

tions. But the Spaniards apparently gained control of the more lucra-

tive items and trade routes.

The Independence Period
The early years of independence in Yucatan, from the l8205

to the l8405, were a period of economic experimentation in which new

4I

agricultural and industrial enterprises were launched. This was a
response both to the disruption of traditional trade relationships
with Spain and Cuba, and to increasing competition in the world mar-
ket for Yucatecan products. British Honduras and Honduras were pro-
ducing logwood more cheaply than Campeche;equArgentine beef and
hides invaded the Cuban market (Cline, I947).

Nevertheless, there were important continuities with the

past. John L. Stephens, in his Incidents of Travel in Yucatan,

 

presents a table listing the products of each district, circa l84l.
Livestock-raising was still the most widespread activity; hides,
tallow, and dried beef were important products in the districts of
Mérida, Izamal, Sotuta, Teabo, Tekax, Valladolid, and Tizimin. Salt
continued to be extracted in coastal areas, while forest products
such as logwood, timber, resin, and gum copal are mentioned for
Campeche, Tizimin, and Bacalar. Rice was also grown in the Campeche
region.

Cotton remained a significant crop in Valladolid and Tizimin
(perhaps stimulated by the textile factory to be described shortly).
In this region and the neighboring district of Izamal traditional
dyes including cochineal, indigo, and achiote were produced. Vanilla,
wax, and honey were among the other products of this area.

The cr0ps which assumed increasing commercial importance
during this period were sugar and henequen. At the time of Stephens'
visit henequen had become an important cr0p in northwestern Yucatan,
while tobacco and sugar were raised throughout the south and east.

Molasses and rum were being processed in Tekax, Bacalar, and Tizimin.

42

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43

Only a few crafts and manufactures are mentioned. Cotton
textiles were made in Valladolid and Tizimin; cotton laces in Tekax,
Teabo, and Ichmul. A stone-working tradition persisted in Tekax,
which was the source of flints and grindstones.‘ Straw hats were
made in Mérida, Tekax, and Maxcanu; cordage and other henequen
products in Mérida, Izamal, and Teabo; cigars in Mérida and Tekax.
Mérida also produced leather goods, guitars, and logwood extract.

Stephens' list is obviously incomplete in some respects.
Maize is not mentioned at all, nor is pottery or woodworking. The
sources of his information are not given, but the items listed seem
to be those which were most significant to creole commerce and enter-
prise. Throughout his travels in Yucatan, Stephens refers to sleep-
ing in hammocks, but they are mentioned as a product only for Ichmul.

Despite various attempts during the colonial period to
establish local markets, they were either absent or unimportant
during the nineteenth century. Stephens describes a fair which he
attended in the pueblo of Halacho, an annual event of eight-days
duration held in conjunction with the observation of the patron
saint's fiesta.

The village of Jalacho lies on the main road from Merida to
Campeachy, and, next to that of Yzamal, its fair is the great-
est in Yucatan, while in some respects it is more curious. It
is not attended by large merchants with foreign goods, nor by
the better classes from Merida, but it is resorted to by all
the Indians from the haciendas and villages (l963:ll0-ll).
Among the items for sale were mirrors, rings and necklaces, cotton,

toys and trinkets, sweets and eatables. It is not clear from the

reference if the cotton was raw or manufactured. Most of the Indians

44

in attendance appear to have been peons from nearby haciendas.

Grains of cacao circulated among the Indians as money:
Every merchant or vender of eatables, the most of whom were
women, has on the table a pile of these grains, which they were
constantly counting and exchanging with the Indians. There is
no copper money in Yucatan nor any coin whatever under a medio,
or six and a quarter cents. . . . The medio is divided into
twenty parts, generally of five grains each, but the number is
increased or decreased according to the quantity of the article
in the market, and its real value. As the earnings of the
Indians are small, and the articles they purchase are the mere
necessaries of life, which are very cheap, these grains of cacao,
or fractional parts of a medic, are the coin in most common use
among them (ll4).

The cacao must have come into Yucatan from Tabasco, as in pre-

Columbian times.

Aside from this excerpt, Stephens does not report visiting
any other fairs or markets, although he attended religious fiestas,
dances, and bull-fights in a number of communities.

One of the economic experiments launched during this period
was a cotton textile factory, the 'Aurora,' established in Valladolid
in the l8305. Although the factory employed 53 workers and 64 wood-
cutters (to provide fuel for its steam engines) and produced satis-
factory cloth and thread, it eventually succumbed in the face of
numerous difficulties. Cheap British cloth, smuggled in from British
Honduras, undersold the Aurora throughout the peninsula. The Aurora's
owner, Baranda, looked to Tabasco and Veracruz for markets, but
after l844 cloth from Yucatan was treated as a foreign product at
Veracruz, and subject to tariff. With the death of Baranda in I845 and

the advent of the Caste War in I847, the Aurora ceased operations and

never revived (Cline, I947).

45

During the Caste War the region around Valladolid was severely
depopulated, and cotton cultivation must have diminished accordingly.
With the availability of cheap British cloth, hand-weaving continued
to decline. Redfield and Villa Rojas (I934) found that weaving on
backstrap looms was entirely extinct in the Chan Kom area by I930,
although it had been common in the region 75 years earlier. Thus
an early attempt to transform Yucatan's principal handicraft into a
mechanized industry failed.

Sugar production, along with the processing of molasses and
rum, likewise declined in the aftermath of the Caste War. In fact,
it was the expansion of sugar production which was largely respon-
sible for the Maya revolt of l847. The plantation system which
accompanied sugar cultivation had pressed ever more heavily on the
labor and land resources of the Indian villages, especially in the
frontier regions. Although the Indians were eventually put down,
at one point they controlled four-fifths of the peninsula, including
all of the sugar-producing areas. The sugar frontier was abandoned
as a consequence and the industry never again assumed the importance
it had briefly enjoyed (Strickon, I965).

The fate of henequen was different. Henequen had the advan-
tage of being admirably adapted to the arid northwest, the area
farthest removed from rebellious Maya and closest to the creole
center of control in Mérida. Always grown on a small scale, it now
came to their economic rescue. The first corporate henequen planta-
tion had been established in l830, and numerous experiments aimed at

mechanizing the extraction of fiber had followed. By the l8505

46

workable machinery had been invented and steady improvements followed.
By the I880s, when the McCormack reaper came into widespread use in
the United States, Yucatan was prepared to provide good quality fiber
for binder twine at a reasonable price. Mechanized cordage factories
were established in Mérida, and henequen soon became the basis of
Yucatan's export economy (Cline, I947).

The capital- and labor-intensive nature of henequen produc-
tion was even greater than that of sugar. Large investments were
required for processing machinery. In addition, returns on initial
plantings could not be realized for several years, since the plant
is not ready for harvesting until the seventh year. Henequen culti-
vation also requires large amounts of labor, and this requirement is
fairly continuous throughout the year rather than seasonal as with
sugar. The henequen plantation based on commercial capital, fixed
labor, and mechanical rasping machinery became established in the
l850$ and I860s and maintained its basic characteristics until the
Revolutionary period. These characteristics included the use of
debt peonage to attract and keep a resident population of laborers
who lived in virtual slavery (Turner, I969)..

During this period the peninsula lost its earlier character
of relative self-sufficiency and became dependent to a much greater
extent on international capital (many plantations were financed by
North American interests) and international markets. These planta-
tions were basically capitalist enterprises in spite of their reten-
tion of many seemingly feudal characteristics in the relationships

between owners and peons.

47

Although debt peonage had existed in Yucatan since early
colonial times, it was during this period that the Yucatecan plan-
tation became a ‘total institution' in the sense in which this term
is used by Beckford (I972). Workers could neither marry nor change
employers except with the owner's consent. They could not leave the
plantation premises without permission, and on many plantations they
were actually locked in at night. Their material needs were supplied

(inadequately) through the tienda de raya (plantation store) where

 

goods at inflated prices were charged against the peon's account,
building up a debt which he could never hope to pay. Many planta-
tions had their own chapels, so that the workers did not leave the
plantation even to hear mass (Turner, I969).

The effects of these deveIOpments on artisan activity must
be largely surmised. As the henequen plantations grew in size and
number, absorbing the so-called terrenos baldios, the Maya villagers
were faced with an increasing scarcity of land for milpa cultivation.
One effect of land encroachment was to force many villagers to work
on the plantations. It is possible that increased artisan produc-
tion may also have occurred as a response to this situation. Accord-
ing to the accounts of travelers, Tixkokob, in the heart of the
henequen zone, was heavily involved in hammock production by the
I880s (Irigoyen, l974:26) and continues to be known for this activity
at the present time. On the other hand, the resident peons on the
plantations would not have had the time or opportunity for such

activities.

48

The mechanization of the various phases in henequen process-
ing, from extracting fiber to spinning twine and rope to weaving
bags, did not entirely displace the hand skills traditionally used
in these tasks, since they are still known throughout the region
today.

The henequen boom was a period of rapid improvement in means
of transportation. The new port at Progreso was constructed and
narrow-gauge railways were pushed out into the countryside in every
direction from Mérida. In many areas this must have made cheap
factory-made goods more easily accessible. Even so, the poverty of
the rural populaticniand the control of the tienda de raya hampered

the deveIOpment of local trade and commerce.

Artisan Production in Contemporary Yucatan

The henequen boom of the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries created an agricultural pattern which has persisted, with
but slight modification, to the present. The semi-arid northwest
is devoted almost entirely to henequen cultivation. It is a mono-
crop economy, dependent on export, and the population of the region
is likewise dependent on the import of its food supply.

The eastern and southern parts of the state are devoted to
maize cultivation, carried on in the traditional manner by Indian
milperos. It is their surplus production which helps to feed the
population of the henequen zone. In the east, livestock are an
important adjunct to maize cultivation, and have been for some time

(Redfield, I950). Improvements in transport have stimulated cattle

49

production, particularly in the Tizimin-Valladolid region, and live-
stock from the area now reach markets in central Mexico as well as

in northwestern Yucatan. In the south, citrus production has become
an important cash crop as a result of deep-well irrigation projects.

Honey continues to be an important product throughout the
peninsula and is exported to Europe, the United States, and Japan.
In the villages near Mérida, fruits, vegetables, poultry, and eggs
are produced for the growing urban market, but as yet no significant
dairy industry has devel0ped.

Fluctuations in the world market for hard fibers and chronic
underemployment in the henequen zone have led to attempts to diver-
sify crops, but with the few exceptions noted above henequen and
maize continue to account for the great majority of the state's
agricultural production.

In recent years fishing has achieved greater importance, but
industry remains little developed in the peninsula. Large mechanized
industries appear only in Mérida, and with the exception of the
cordage factories operated by Cordemex, they are devoted almost
entirely to the processing of foodstuffs (bread, cookies, cooking
oils, soft drinks, beer) for local consumption. Most needs for
manufactured goods are met through importation from central Mexico.

By far the most significant change in Yucatan's economy in
recent years has been the increase in tourism, particularly since
the completion of highways in the early l960s linking the peninsula
to the rest of Mexico. Tourism is now the peninsula's second most

important industry, topped only by henequen in economic value.

50

These trends have had diverse effects on handicraft activity.
Access to cheap factory-made goods has led to the decline of some
crafts. Others have become reoriented toward the tourist market,
and innovations intended to appeal to tourists have become common.
New patterns of local specialization have emerged, although certain
continuities with the past may be noted.

In the pages which follow I will attempt to describe briefly
the distribution of craft specialization in Yucatan today, as well
as the organization of production and marketing within the various
crafts. A good part of the information related here comes from per-
sonal observations and travels in Yucatan, as well as interviews with
shop owners and dealers in Mérida and other towns. Bastarrachea, in
an unpublished report (l97l), provides information on local special-
ization in a number of crafts. Published works touch only lightly
on the subject, although Thompson's recent study of Ticul (I970)
gives considerable data on handicraft production in that community.
In addition, I have made use of conversations with other anthro-
pologists, and with friends and acquaintances in Mérida in compiling
the information presented here. Given the absence of systematic
studies and the dearth of published information, the picture which
follows must be considered partial and incomplete.

The most widespread and commercially important craft activi-
ties in Yucatan today are the embroidery of huipiles (native dresses)
and the weaving of hammocks, both of which are traditional skills.
There is an expanding demand for both items from the permanent popu-

lation as well as from tourists. Virtually everyone in Yucatan

5l

sleeps in hammocks at least a part of the time. Even those who can
afford beds find them too hot in the summer months. Whether made of
henequen, cotton or nylon, the hammock is ubiquitous, and only once
did I hear of a family so poor that they had to sleep on the floor.

The demand for embroidered huipiles likewise shows no signs
of declining. They are worn by about half the women of Yucatan as
the daily costume, and often the only type of dress which they have
ever worn. It is true that in each generation a part of the mestizol
population changes its dress and habits and becomes catrin (the local
term for one who adopts European-style dress), but the mestizo p0pu-
lation is nevertheless larger in absolute numbers than it was a gen-
eration ago. It is probably safe to predict the persistence of the
traditional huipil for some time to come. Even the women of middle
and upper class families, families which have always been gente de
vestido (people of European dress), usually own a number of huipiles:
ordinary ones for casual wear, plus an elegant £3522_for fiestas and
folk dances. The tendency to use huipiles for casual wear has
increased as Yucatecans have observed that North Americans readily
do so.

There are close parallels in the organization of production
of these two items, huipiles and hammocks. In the rural communities
many families make these items for their own needs. For huipiles,
ordinary white cotton cloth called popelina and embroidery thread
are purchased and the work is done at home, normally on a treadle
sewing machine. The older cross-stitch embroidery (xoc bil chuy in

Maya, hilo contado in Spanish) has been replaced in everyday wear by

 

52

floral designs which are created on the machine. Women who do not

have their own machines may borrow the use of a machine from a rela-
tive, but more often they purchase the materials and commission a woman
with a machine to do the sewing and embroidery. Occasionally simple
garments are sewn by hand.

In the case of hammocks, there are several alternatives. If
the hammock is made of henequen, the cord used in its construction
may be either purchased, or spun by a number of methods. In some
areas the fiber is still extracted from the leaves by hand. The
leaves are firmly attached to an inclined board, and the fiber is
rubbed out with a slender sharp-edged stick (Redfield and Villa Rojas,
I934). When dried, the fibers can be twisted into cord by rubbing
them together on the thigh. This method of spinning is still fairly
common even in the henequen zone, though it is usually done only by
older people. Informants agree that it produces the best cord. In
the henequen zone the fiber is extracted by large power-driven
raspers. Small amounts of the resulting fiber may be purchased
locally and spun on a large hand-cranked wheel. This requires two
people, one to feed the fiber, moving backward as the cord elongates,
and the other to turn the wheel. If the family owns its own loom
or bastidor and has the requisite skill, the hammock may be made at
home. Alternatively, a bastidor may be borrowed, or someone else
may be commissioned to make the hammock. In any case, a hammock
made of henequen costs little, and can be quite durable if well-

constructed.

 

S3

Increasingly, however, the rural p0pulation is acquiring
hammocks made of colorful cotton cord. In this case, the materials
must be purchased, but the method and tools of manufacture are iden-
tical.

In addition to domestic production for use, large numbers of
huipiles and hammocks are made for sale. Occasionally, the artisans
purchase the materials and then sell the finished products themselves.
More frequently, the materials are provided by middlemen or their
agents, and the artisan is paid a piece rate. This is particularly
the case with that part of the production destined for the tourist
market. Residents of the region, both rural and urban, often commis-
sion 3 person of known skill to make a hammock for them.

It is difficult to estimate what proportion of the produc-
tion of these two items reaches the tourist or export market. In
relationship to hammocks, this question will be treated more thoroughly
in Chapter 4. With huipiles I have no valid information, but the
proportion is certainly increasing as dealers develop new contacts
and customers in foreign countries.

Although there are people in every community who are skilled
in embroidery and in hammock-weaving, some communities have begun
to engage in commercial production on a significant scale.
Bastarrachea's data indicate that huipiles are especially important
in Acanceh, Halacho, Izamal, Mani, Maxcanu, Sotuta, Teabo, Tekit,
Tekom, and Ticul. These are communities where large numbers of women
are involved in embroidering huipiles for sale or in making huipiles

for merchants.

54

Henequen hammocks are produced for sale in Chemax, Chichimila,
Tekom, and Tixcacalcupul in eastern Yucatan (Villa Rojas, I969),
although the Mérida market for these hammocks is supplied largely by
the nearby town of Tixkokob. Tixkokob is likewise the most impor-
tant source of cotton hammocks, but numerous other communities produce
them on a significant scale, particularly Cacalchén, Chumayel, Izamal,
Mayapan, Pencuyut, Teabo, Tekit, Tipical, and Calkini (the last just
over the border in the neighboring state of Campeche). It is inter-
esting to note that the communities mentioned by Villa Rojas as
traditionally specializing in henequen hammocks are not significantly
involved in supplying the market for cotton hammocks, which is con-
centrated in Mérida. The latter draws its supply from communities
which are closer to the city, many of which have taken up hammock
production as a specialty within recent years.

Thompson's study of Ticul (I970) provides a fairly exten-
sive picture of handicraft industries in that community. He esti-
mates that about one-third of the town's labor force works in shoe-
making, hat-making, or pottery. Although differing in important
respects, all three of these industries share a similar pattern of
organization. Artisan-entrepreneurs, working alone or with several
employees, purchase their raw materials, and often sell their products
themselves.

Shoe-making is the most important of Ticul's artisan indus-
tries, and also its newest. It received its stimulus during World
War II when foreign supplies of shoes were cut off, and now employs

about 500 workers in approximately 50 shops, and another lOO workers

55

laboring at home. Simple cutting and sewing machinery is used, and
capital investment may go as high as IO0,000 pesos. Leather is
usually purchased pre-dyed and the work is divided between cutters
and solers. Both are paid by the piece and earnings run about 90
pesos per week.

While the owners of the smaller shops work alongside their
employees, the larger entrepreneurs are engaged full-time in purchas-
ing and marketing. Shoes from Ticul are sold in Merida, Campeche,
Chetumal, Villahermosa, and even Mexico City. Some small shoemakers
sell to larger ones or to independent purchasing agents. About l5
percent of the workers have their own tools and work at home under
the putting-out system. In this way, the entrepreneur can reduce
overhead, particularly the social security contributions which he
must make for those who labor in the shop (I970:7I-84).

Hatmaking in Ticul dates back to the turn of the century.

The palm-fiber, secured locally, is plaited into long strands by

women of the region who work at home and are paid by the piece.

These strands are then sewn into hats on a heavy-duty pedal sewing
machine. There were 300 hatmakers in Ticul in I968, most working
alone or in small shops of four or five workers. As with shoemaking,
hatmaking in Ticul was stimulated during World War II, but prices

and wages have not kept pace since. In part, this is because purchas-
ing agents based in Mérida rigidly control the market. The women

who braid the strands receive 2.2 pesos for a 30-yard piece, while

the hatmaker himself earns only about lO pesos daily (Thompson,

l970:84-89).

56

Most palm-leaf hats are destined for consumption by the
rural mestizo population. There is little demand from the urban
population or from tourists.

Pottery production in Ticul is a traditional mestizo craft
and generally a family activity involving men, women, and children.
About 40 families are engaged in the industry. The potters either
excavate their own supplies of clay and temper from nearby deposits
or buy them from independent suppliers. In either case, a fee is
collected by the landowner. The resultant wares are sold all over
the peninsula, frequently by the potters themselves. Potters earn
only lO-20 pesos daily, from which they must cover the cost of
materials, including wood for firing the kiln (Thompson, l970:92).

In response to growing tourist demand, however, a number of
potters have begun to employ hired labor, transforming their patios
into workshops with several kilns. Busloads of tourists now come
out from Mérida to tour these sh0ps and make purchases. Ticul pot-
tery is also sold in gift sh0ps and market stalls in Mérida.

None of these three industries is restricted to Ticul.
Shoemaking is also practiced in Hunucma, although on a smaller scale.
Palm-leaf hats are made in Tekax, Merida, and Calkini. The first two
were known for hat-making in Stephens' time (I963, Vol. l:272),
while today Calkini produces the finest hats, of a material known as
jipi-japa (Villa Rojas, I969; Thompson, I970). Pottery-production,
which once must have been much more widespread, is now restricted

to a few communities, among them Maxcanu, Mama, and Uayma (Bastarrachea,

57

l97l; Villa Rojas, I969). Only Ticul, however, can be said to pro-
duce it on a commercially significant scale.

Woodcarving, so important in pre-Columbian times, is not
very significant today. Wooden chocolate beaters are made on pedal-
driven lathes in the village of Dzitya, north of Mérida. Some of
these, bearing the legend 'Recuerdo de Yucatan,‘ are sold to tourists
in the Mérida market. Since there are no forests in the Dzitya
area, the woodworkers buy their raw materials from suppliers in the
eastern part of the state (Bastarrachea, l97l). Numerous carpentry
shops in Mérida turn out furniture for the urban population; village
carpenters make simpler furniture to order for their rural customers.

The traditional hollow-log drums and ceremonial masks are
apparently no longer made anywhere in Yucatan, although these items
were found to be still in use in the village of Dzitnup, near
Valladolid, in l97l.

Baskets are the specialty of Halacho. Located on the Merida-
Campeche highway, residents of this village set up roadside stands
to sell to tourists. Halacho baskets are also sold in the Merida
market. Most baskets are produced by family units from raw materials
which are purchased in Campeche. They often include a few strips
which have been dyed in bright colors with aniline dyes. All members
of the family work on the baskets, and earnings are fairly low.

Throughout rural Yucatan, numerous articles are still made for
domestic use rather than for sale. These include bowls and other
utensils made of gourds, baskets for various purposes, and items made

of henequen. One community, Hocaba, specializes in the latter,

58

producing such items as rope, harness, carrying bags, and mecapales
(straps which pass across the forehead, used for carrying burdens
on the back). Recently, artisans in Ticul and other communities
have begun to make items out of henequen for the tourist market,
such as colorful place mats and wall hangings.

Most rural communities have a few craft specialists who
produce on order to meet local needs. These include the sandal-
makers who turn out the traditional alpargatas worn by the mestizo
population, and the tailors and seamstresses who turn out European-
style clothing.

Stone-working seems to have largely disappeared, although one
metatero was located in a village near Valladolid by Bastarrachea
and his colleagues in l97l. I also encountered an individual in
Oxkutzcab in I972 who was attempting to produce imitations of pre-
Columbian pieces for the tourist trade. In this case, the pieces
were honestly presented as imitations; how many are surreptitiously
engaged in producing supposedly authentic pieces is unknown.

Some new innovations have recently appeared. The art of
macramé was introduced in Mérida in l97l, and a cooperative was
launched to produce belts and purses for the tourist market. This
move was soon imitated by others. In I974, residents of the small
coastal community of Chabihau began to make jewelry and small
decorative pieces, such as animal figures, out of shell. A coopera-

tive was also organized in this instance (Royer, I975).

59

Discussion

 

In summary, five general patterns may be noted for the organi-
zation of production in Yucatecan handicrafts.‘ The first involves
production for use within the domestic group. Huipiles, hammocks,
baskets, gourd utensils, and articles of henequen are still made
in this way by a significant part of Yucatan's rural p0pulation.

The second pattern involves production by specialists, scattered
throughout the peninsula, who serve the needs of their fellow vil-
lagers and generally make items to order, with the customer often
providing the raw materials. This system applies to the same items
listed above, but also includes sandalmakers, carpenters, and
tailors.

A third pattern consists of production for sale by indi-
vidual peasant-artisans or their families, working without hired
labor. This pattern pertains to pottery, hats, chocolate beaters,
and Halacho baskets. In each of these cases there is significant
local specialization, and the producer may be separated from the
consumer by one or more middlemen.

A fourth pattern involves production for sale by small-scale
entrepreneurs employing several workers, at piece rates, in small-
or medium-sized workshops. These workshops may involve substantial
capital investment, as with shoemaking, or very little as with pottery.
In either case, mechanization has not proceeded far enough to remove
the hand-made element from the product. Again, there is significant
local specialization in shoes, hats and pots, and middlemen are

involved in buying up and reselling the goods.

60

The fifth pattern consists of production through a putting-
out system, in which merchants or their agents provide raw materials
to be worked up at home, with wages based on piece rates. This
pattern is prevalent only in the case of huipiles and hammocks, but
these are by far the most significant craft activities in the region
in terms of both numbers of producers and economic value of the
product. While production for use of these items is widespread,
production for the tourist market is concentrated in certain commu-
nities. The distribution of these items frequently involves a number
of middlemen (small-town merchants, city buyers, U.S. importers).

The factors influencing the pattern of organization in any
particular industry include the nature of the market, the difficulty
of the skills involved, and the kinds of capital investment required.

‘ Where the market is restricted to the rural poor, production
for use or simple commodity production by small peasantéartisans is
common, and inter-community trade is limited.' In general, increas-
ing demand on the part of the urban middle class or tourists seems
to have the effect of encouraging the growth of enterprises, the
concentration of production, the appearance of middlemen, and the
emergence of local specialization.

In those cases in which sizeable capital investment in
specialized equipment is required, as with shoemaking, the small
shop employing some wage labor appears to be the common pattern.

By contrast, the putting-out system is most common in those cases
where the ratio of variable to fixed capital is high and relatively

unskilled part-time labor can be utilized. This particular complex

6l

of factors is characteristic of the hammock industry. No high level

of skill is required for weaving the most common types of hammocks,

but the cost of wages and factory-made materials for a single hammock
may be greater than the cost of the loom. Given the existence of a

high demand for the product, the emergence of middlemen who not only buy
and sell, but organize production by controlling supplies of materials
and seeking out cheap labor, is a logical outcome.

Although the ratio of variable to fixed capital is not as
high in the case of embroidered huipiles, the treadle sewing machine
is apparently a common enough article of domestic use in Yucatan
that an adequate supply of women can readily be found to make up the
materials provided by middlemen. Recent government programs have
encouraged the purchase of sewing machines under easy time-payment
plans.

It is interesting to note the parallels between the con-
temporary putting-out system and the organization of textile produc-
tion during the colonial period. In both cases the existence of a
foreign market encouraged merchants to actively organize production
in the countryside, controlling the supplies of materials and
employing agents to distribute them to female artisans. Now, as then,
the controlling merchants tend to be persons of European culture,
while their agents in the countryside are often mestizos. In the
colonial period the encomienda and repartimiento could be used
directly to coerce production from the native female population; today

it is market relations--under-employment, poverty, and the threat of

62

starvation--which provide the stimulus for women to participate in
underpaid artisan activity.

The patterns of craft production developing in Yucatan today
are both new and old. The items produced, the local specialties,
vary from one period to another. Through all the periods reviewed
here, however, existence of foreign markets and long-distance trade
have been significant determining factors.

In the pre-Columbian period the production of textiles and
other items was encouraged by active trade with the Aztecs and with
Honduras. After the Conquest trade routes and markets shifted to
include Cuba. At the present time, the United States provides a
significant demand for craft items, both through importers in the
U.S. and tourists who journey to Yucatan. The importance of events
and conditions outside the peninsula in influencing local agricultural
patterns has been pointed out by Strickon (I965). The same conclu-
sion is implied for artisan production.

It appears from this review that ecological conditions,
understood as the characteristics of the immediate natural environ-
ment, do not in themselves go far toward explaining the emergence
of specialized artisan production nor the form of its organization.
They may, however, have an impact on its local distribution, a ques-

tion to be taken up in the next chapter.

63

Footnotes--Chapter 2

l .
In Yucatan, the term mestizo refers to persons who speak
Maya and wear the traditional native costume consisting of long
white huipil for women and white shirt and pants for men.

CHAPTER 3

PATTERNS AND DETERMINANTS OF LOCAL CRAFT

SPECIALIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY YUCATAN

Whatever the situation in the past, it is clear that local
specialization in craft production has become increasingly important
in Yucatan in recent years. To a significant degree, this development
reflects the growth of the tourist market and improvements in the
means of transport. Increased domestic demand has also been impor-
tant in certain cases. Nevertheless, these changes do not explain
why certain communities have become significant producers of craft
goods while others have not.

As was pointed out in Chapter I, students of the Mayan high-
lands have explained local specialization in crafts as (I) a response
to ecological variation, each community having somewhat different
resources; (2) a consequence of local monopolies over the acquisition
of traditional skills, reinforced by village endogamY; (3) a response
to poor soils or other factors limiting agricultural potential;
and/or (4) a response to increasing population density and resultant
land scarcity. In the latter two cases, it is argued that people are
forced to seek alternatives to subsistence agriculture, such as
craft specialization or seasonal migration. Similarly, the relative

underdevelopment of local craft specialties in Yucatan has been

64

65

attributed to supposed ecological homogeneity and low population
density.

The role of ecological variation is somewhat ambiguous in
these formulations. On the one hand, it may be taken to mean that
areas specializing in crafts are those with a unique natural resource
which can be transformed into a craft product, such as clay for
pottery or stone for metates. On the other hand, it may mean that
local variations in rainfall, soil fertility, irrigation possibili-
ties, and the like are expressed in variations in agricultural yields
such that some localities find it more difficult than others to sub-
sist by agricultural activity alone.

If we take the former interpretation and attempt to apply
it to Yucatan the results are not very enlightening. Pottery pro-
duction in Ticul makes use of local clays, but some areas with clay
deposits have largely ceased to make pots. The basket-makers of
Halaché get their supply of palm-leaf strips from areas farther
south in Campeche. Wood-carvers in Dzitya find supplies of wood in
eastern Yucatan, since no suitable woods are locally available.
Henequen fiber is certainly not unique to any locality in Yucatan.
Today, a considerable number of crafts use materials processed or
manufactured in Mérida or outside of the state. Consequently, this
approach does not go far toward explaining the patterns of local
specialization to be seen in Yucatan today.

In some cases, present-day patterns of specialization reflect
the continuity of traditional skills in particular communities. This

does not, however, seem to be the general trend. Several craft

66

specialties constitute recent developments. In the case of hammocks,
while part of a regional tradition, much production today comes from
communities which have taken up the activity in recent years (in

Cacalchén, some 20 or 25 years ago; in Teabo only 5 or ID years ago).

With regard to the deveIOpment of cottage industries in
Europe, there appears to be basic agreement among demographers and
economic historians that such industries developed in regions and
places characterized by a land-poor peasantry, and that in these
places population growth tended to be more rapid than in areas with-
out domestic industry (Fisher, l973; Landes, I965). In eighteenth
century Flanders, population increase was significantly higher in
locations with poor soil, small land-holdings, and reliance on the
linen industry (Deprez, I965). Similar findings are reported for
parts of the Netherlands (Van Bath, I968) and Bohemia (Klima, I974),
while Hinshaw, Pyeatt, and Habict (I972) appear to have found hints
of such a pattern in the Lake Atitlén region of highland Guatemala.
Arnold (I975) argues that poor agricultural conditions and pottery
production are associated in the Ayacucho Basin of Peru.

My informants in Cacalchén and Teabo, two important centers
of hammock production in Yucatan, were consistent in reporting that
these communities had poor agricultural resources by comparison
with their neighbors. In Teabo, it is not uncommon for peasants to
make their milpas far away in Quintana Roo because of the poor yields
and scarcity of land at home. In Cacalchén, there are generally no
gjig9_lands available for making milpa, since most are devoted to

henequen production. Most milperos in that community are owners

67

of private plots. Others can plant corn in newly cleared henequen
fields, between the rows of young henequen plants, but because of

the short fallowing period on such fields the yields are low. It

is also clear that ejidatarios in Cacalchén earn less than those in
some of the other nearby communities; the salary rates paid by the
various ejidos are a common subject of comment and comparison. Some

of the merchants engaged in putting out hammocks attributed Cacalchén's
heavy involvement in weaving to the poverty of its inhabitants.

The association of domestic industry with population growth
found in the studies referred to above presents a problem as to the
direction of causality. Presumably, people in 'overpopulated' areas
will be seeking ways to supplement agricultural incomes, while mer-
chants and entrepreneurs will be seeking supplies of cheap labor to
increase craft production and meet a growing market for such pro-
ducts. On the other hand, craft production may reinforce population
increase: since children often can begin to contribute to family
income at an early age, greater family size may be encouraged
(Fischer, I973). It is likely that effects on fertility might vary
somewhat from one craft activity to another, in accord with the
importance of female and child labor. Nash (l96l), for example,
found that pottery production in Amatenango was limited by the pres-
ence in the household of small children, since female labor was
divided between child care and pottery production. In such cases,
additional births would not necessarily be encouraged in spite of the

later advantage of additional child labor.

68

It is possible that reliance on craft production allows
earlier marriage, since young couples do not have to be provided
with land for cultivation. This alone could result in higher rates
of natural increase. Coontz (I957) argues that in the European
situation demand for unskilled labor was crucial in determining
inter-rural fertility differences. Early industrialization magni-
fied the demand for the labor of women and children. Later, however,
women's domestic roles ceased to be productive, and children became
an economic liability rather than an asset.

The association of crafts with landlessness suggests that
the pattern of landholding may be as important as absolute density
or natural ecological conditions: if land is concentrated in the
hands of a few people, and devoted to livestock-raising or some other
labor-extensive form of production, 'Iand scarcity' may occur regard-

less of population density or soil fertility.

Methodology

 

In line with these arguments, we would expect to find local
craft specialization developing in Yucatan in areas of poor agri-
cultural yields, low income, increasing population density, and/or
increasing land scarcity. In order to investigate whether or not
this is in fact the case, several indicators of demographic, agri-
cultural, and economic characteristics were developed for measuring

local variation, using statistical data on municipios readily avail-

 

able from government agencies. These indicators were then tested for

relationship with craft production.

69

The municipio is a local government unit comparable to the
county or township in the United States. In Yucatan municipios range
in population size from 570 to 35,647 (excluding Mérida, the capital
city) with a mean of 4,9l7.9. Only l3 of the IDS municipios, or
l2.4 percent, exceed l0,000 persons. The municipios are also diverse
in land area, ranging from 39.6 to 4,l32.4 square kilometers. How-
ever, more than half have less than 200 square kilometers, and only
6.6 percent exceed l,OOO.

Most of the municipios in the henequen zone are character-
ized by highly nucleated settlements with the bulk of the population
residing h1the cabecera (equivalent to the county seat). This is less
true in the maize zone, but even there a marked tendency toward
nucleation appears. People live in villages and hamlets, but not as
a general rule in scattered homesteads. In this sense municipios
can be regarded as communities rather than arbitrary aggregates of
population, although it is occasionally the case that an outlying
settlement will be more closely tied economically to the cabecera
of a neighboring municipio than to that of its own.

Given these limitations, the municipio was deemed a suitable
(though not ideal) unit for the study of local variations in craft

specialization.

Participation in Craft Production
Using my own data and that of Bastarrachea (l97l), as well

as other published and unpublished sourceS, 53 out of a total of

7O

l05 municipios were classified as to the extent and type of local
specialization:

I. Participation in craft production insignificant; only a
few individuals involved (ll municipios).

2. Participation in craft production moderately important;
evidence of local craft specialty which is marketed extra-locally,
but probably involving fewer than one-third of the households (l7
municipios).

3. Participation in craft production very important; evidence
of one or more local craft specialties which are marketed extra-
locally, one-third or more of the households probably participating
in craft production (l7 municipios).

4. Other type of specialty dominates the local economy:
citrus production, truck gardening, fishing, or salt extraction
(8 municipios).

Where possible, the opinions of other anthropoligists were
sought as to the accuracy of the classification of particular municip-
ios. 'The decision to classify as (2) or (3) was made conservatively:
where there was some information on a local craft specialty marketed
extra-locally, but little indication as to its importance in the local
economy, the municipio was classified as (2). Fifty-two of the IDS
municipios could not be classified because of insufficient information.
In testing for relationships with demographic, agricultural, and
economic variables, municipios classified as (4)--other type of

specialty--were excluded from the sample, and the first three categories

7l

used as an ordinal scale, leaving a total of 45 municipios (see
Appendix A).

Although the resulting sample of 45 municipios was not ran-
domly selected, some claim can be made that it is representative of
those Yucatecan municipios which are characterized by an agricultural
economy. Fifty-two percent of the municipios in the henequen zone
are included, and 38 percent of those in the maize zone. Excluding
Mérida (the principal urban area), the non-sample municipios are not
significantly different from the sample municipios for most of the
variables tested.l The variables chosen to test relationships with
extent of participation in craft production are discussed below,
along with the reasons for choosing the particular indicators and

the sources of data used.

Demographic Variables

 

The demographic variables used to test the relationship with
extent of craft production were:

I. total population, taken from the I970 national census;

2. population density, expressed as persons per square
kilometer, taken from the I970 national census; and

3. percent population increase from I960 to I970, calculated
from the respective censuses.

Population density and p0pulation increase were used because
of the arguments of previous writers that they are positively related
to participation in craft production. In this case, persons per

square kilometer is used as an indicator of land scarcity. Total

72

population was also used because of the assumptionthatldivision of
labor and provision of specialized services would increase with com-

munity size.

Agricultural Variables

 

Statistics on agricultural production, available from the
offices of the Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia in Mérida,
were used to develop the following measures of agricultural pro-
ductivity:

l. average annual yield per hectare of henequen, in kilograms,
l957‘l970;

2. average annual yield per hectare of maize, in kilograms,
l96l-l970;

3. average annual per capita value of henequen production,
in pesos, l967-l970; and

4. average annual per capita value of maize production, in
pesos, l967-l970.

Statistics on henequen and maize were chosen because they
are the two crops most widely cultivated in Yucatan and thus the
best ones available for comparing local differences. Rather than
taking the yields for a single year, the average for a IO-year period
was calculated for maize. Since local rainfall patterns are vari-
able and unpredictable from year to year, communities with high
yields in one year may have low ones in the next. The time period
for calculating averages for henequen was increased to l4 years

because, while henequen is less sensitive to drought, the life of the

73

plant extends over some 25 years, with production of fiber occurring
only after the seventh year and reaching its highest levels between
the tenth and fifteenth years (Manero, l966:39)._ Most of the
henequen-producing municipios have fields in various stages of devel-
opment, but yields may vary significantly from year to year as new
fields come into production and old ones begin to decline.

Since the average market price for these two crops was also
indicated for recent years, the per capita value was calculated.
This was done because it is quite possible that a community may have
high yields of one or both of these crops, yet lack adequate land
to support the population. Consequently, it was assumed that a
measure of per capita value would more accurately represent the abil-
ity of the local population to support itself from agricultural
resources.

Since henequen production in Yucatan is thoroughly controlled
by government agencies, the SAG statistics on henequen production can
be assumed to be highly reliable. Although there are persistent

rumors about sosquil de luna (black market henequen fiber) being

 

sold to private growers by the ejidos, such sales would likely take
place within municipios and would not affect municipal totals sig-
nificantly.

The statistics on maize production are less accurate.
Experienced SAG personnel conduct annual surveys of the number of
hectares planted, make estimates of yields based on local inquiries,
and calculate total production by multiplying yields by hectares

planted. It is probable that some maize production, particularly

74

for subsistence, escapes the notice of these inspectors, but the
extent of such under-reporting is not known.

An additional factor which may be of some significance is
not revealed by these data: degree of land concentration. A fair
amount of the land in the henequen zone is still held in large
units of up to 200 hectares, usually the remaining property left
to the haciendas after land reform. The profits from henequen pro-
duction on these ex-haciendas are drained out of the rural areas,
since almost all of the owners live in Mérida. In such cases,
figures on the per capita value of henequen production may be some-
what misleading. In the maize zone there are few haciendas, but
data on Chan Kom would suggest that inequalities in land ownership
make it difficult for some persons to get access to cultivable land

(Goldkind, I965, I966). Unfortunately, I know of no easily available

statistics on local variations in the degree of land concentration.

Other Economic Variables
. Two additional variables were included as measures of the
relative wealth of the various municipios:

l. percent reporting incomes of 200 pesos or more monthly,
of the economically active population I2 years and over declaring
incomes, taken from the I970 national census; and

2. percent of the population IO years of age and over who
are literate, taken from the I970 national census.

Although it is likely that some respondents under-report

their incomes to the census taker, there is little reason to expect

75

that the residents of one locality respond more inaccurately than
those of another. Consequently, the measure of income used here
provides a scale of relative wealth, and allows a test of whether
participation in craft production is associated with low income.

The measure of literacy is used as an indirect measure of
wealth. Not only does higher income allow more children to go to
school for a longer period, but literacy also improves economic
opportunity. In addition, participation in craft production may
have a negative effect on literacy rates because of the utilization
of child labor.

Using extent of participation in craft production as the
dependent variable, cross-tabulations were constructed using each of
the other nine variables as independent variables. Since the cross-
tabulations involved a combination of ordinal and interval data,
the interval data were grouped and Kendall's tau was chosen as a test
of relationship.

Demographic Characteristics and Participation
in Craft Production

 

The results of the testing of the demographic variables are
given in Tables I to 3. It can be seen that while participation in
craft production has a fairly direct relationship with population
size, the expected relationships with population density and popula-
tion increase did not emerge.2 Both of the latter show a curvilinear
pattern: craft production was likely to be high both in low-density
and high-density municipios, but not in medium-density ones. Like-

wise, craft production was likely to be high both in municipios with

76

 

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o :mu m.__mocox

 

 

 

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77

 

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78

 

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ates to Non Nmm.m~-oN Nam.m_-o «mastuoo co_uu=nota

 

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.omm_uomm_ .ommoco:_ co_um_:aoa ucoocoa >9 co_uo:o0ca uwmco c_ co_uma_o_ucmmul.m o_nmh

79

a population decrease and in those with a high population increase.
Particularly surprising is the finding that all of those municipios
experiencing a population decrease also participate in craft pro-
duction to a moderate or greater extent.

Because of the generally higher population density in the
henequen zone, and because it was noted that those communities with
a population decrease were to be found largely in the maize zone,
the two zones were tested separately. Although the number of cases
in each group is small (26 for the henequen zone and I9 for the
maize zone), the results indicate some interesting differences
between the two zones (see Tables 4, 5, and 6). The relationship
between population size and craft production appears as much stronger
for the henequen zone, while demonstrating no significant relationship
in the maize zone. The relationship of craft production with popula-
tion density remains insignificant for both zones, while that with
population increase takes on a positive, though not highly signifi-
cant, relationship for the henequen zone.

These results suggest that for contemporary Yucatan total
population size and percent of population increase have value as
predictors of participation in craft production in the henequen
zone, while none of the demographic variables tested is able to
predict participation in craft production for the maize zone.

Agricultural Characteristics and Participation
in Craft Production
The agricultural variables were analyzed separately for the

henequen and maize zones, since henequen production is minimal in

 

80

m. u z .ommc. u _o>o_ oucmu_m_cm_m .mwoo. u 0 amp m.__mocox

 

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ate: to ooo.o_ mmm.m-ooo.m mmm.:-oom.~ mm:.~-o co_uusnota
ucmtu c_

 

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8l

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A_uzv Amuzv Am_uzv "MZON m~_<z

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82

 

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83

the maize zone and maize production of secondary importance in the

henequen zone.

The Henequen Zone

In the henequen zone, a slight negative relationship was
found between henequen yields and participation in craft production
(see Table 7). As predicted, however, the negative relationship
with per capita value of henequen production was much stronger (see
Table 8), suggesting that per capita measures of agricultural pro-
ductivity are better predictors of participation in craft production
than area measures of productivity.

By contrast with henequen, maize yields showed a strong
positive relationship with participation in craft production for the
henequen zone (see Table 9). This finding is not surprising given
the negative correlation for the sample as a whole between henequen
yields and maize yields (-.3523, p = .024) and between per capita
values of henequen production and maize production (-.405l, p = .Ol3).
The negative correlations reflect rainfall gradients which make
henequen more suitable for the arid northwest and maize more suit-
able for the south and east. It is also possible that there is
greater reliance on supplemental maize cultivation in those municipios
of the henequen zone which have low henequen yields. In municipios
with good henequen yields less attention need be given to milpa.
cultivation.

The per capita value of maize production was uniformly low

throughout the zone: less than IOO pesos annually in all but one case.

84

 

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85

 

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86

 

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87

For this reason, no attempt was made to test the relationship with

craft production for the henequen zone.

The Maize Zone

The relationship between participation in craft production
and maize yields was in the predicted direction, although not sig-
nificant (see Table IO). Craft production and per capita value of
maize production likewise failed to show a significant relationship
(see Table II).

These results may be due to sources of error such as inac-
curacies in the reporting of crop production in the maize zone, or
the small number of cases in the zone (only l9 municipios). It is
also possible that livestock raising (primarily cattle and hogs) may
contribute more to agricultural incomes in the maize zone than maize
production.

Other Economic Characteristics and Participation
in Craft Production

A strong negative relationship was found between participa-
tion in craft production and percent reporting incomes over 200 pesos
monthly (see Table l2). Where incomes are high, craft production is
low, and vice versa. These findings suggest that if craft production
constitutes an activity aimed at compensating for low incomes from
agriculture, it compensates very inadequately. When the two zones
were analyzed separately, the relationship was weakened somewhat for
the henequen zone, but strengthened for the maize zone (Table I3).

This is a rather curious finding, in view of the assumption that

88

 

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m.~: m.mm 0004000:

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89

 

 

 

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90

 

 

 

 

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92

there is greater reliance on cash income in the henequen zone than

3

in the maize zone. It may, however, reflect the greater number
of alternative sources of cash income available in the henequen
zone, particularly in those localities within commuting distance

of Mérida. Or, it may simply reflect the greater overall poverty
of the maize zone, as measured by this variable.

As expected, the relationship of literacy to participation
in craft production was negative, although the relationship was not
a strong one (see Table lh). When the two zones are analyzed
separately, however, the relationship again becomes stronger for
the henequen zone and disappears for the maize zone (see Table 15).
The latter result is somewhat unexpected, given the fairly strong
correlation between percent literate and percent reporting incomes
over 200 pesos monthly (.5865, p = .00l). Again, it may be that in
the henequen zone, literacy opens up economic opportunities which
are not present in the maize zone (such as work in Mérida). The

finding may also reflect the generally lower educational levels in

the maize zone as well.

Discussion
0f the variables tested, the one which appears most promis-
ing as a predictor of participation in craft production for Yucatan
as a whole is income. Where incomes are low, artisan activity is
likely to be high, and vice versa. In addition, population size
and population increase show positive relationships with artisan

activity for the henequen zone, while per capita value of henequen

93

 

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95

production, henequen yields and literacy rates show the expected
negative relationships. These findings are presented in summary form
in Table 16.

With regard to the henequen zone, the results tend to con-
firm the arguments of previous writers that people turn to artisan
production because of inability to adequately support themselves
through agriculture. The failure of the maize zone to demonstrate
the expected relationships suggests that additional factors need to
be considered in explaining patterns of local specialization in that
region. There, access to roads and to suppliers of materials may
play a more significant role, since transport in general is less
developed there than in the henequen zone. Transport may be espe-
cially important in crafts such as hammocks and huipiles, where urban
merchants are actively seeking out rural workers willing to supply
them with finished products. In recent years the network of roads
has expanded rapidly in Yucatan, so that communities in the maize
zone are beginning to enjoy easier communication with Mérida and with
other towns. It is to be expected that trade and commerce will
increase accordingly.

One way to test for such a relationship would be to use travel
time to Mérida as a variable. Since little accurate information
was available on the condition of rural roads or the frequency of
public transportation, this was not attempted. However, my own
research on the hammock industry indicates the relevance of this
factor. The major centers of hammock production are all within a

day's round trip of Mérida by public transport. Merchants in these

96

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000.. 00.0.- 00000. 0000000. 00.00.0000

.000. 000.. 0000. 00.0000 00.00.0000

000000. 0000. 000.000. 00.0 00.00.0000

.mauz. .0.nz. .00uz.

0.0500 .0000 0:0N 00.02 0:0N :0:00:0: 00.40.00>

 

00 00.40.00>

.:0.00:0000 00000 :. :o.000.0.0000
0:00:0000:. 0o 00.40:o.00.00 000 :00 0...00:0x 0o 00:.0> 0o >0055:muu.0. 0.400

97

centers in turn have weavers working for them in more distant loca-
tions, within a day's journey (in some cases by foot or horseback)
of the town where the merchant is located, but sometimes beyond a
day's journey to Mérida and back.

The failure of any of the agricultural variables to show the
expected relationships with craft production in the maize zone sug-
gests that the measures used here may not be the appropriate ones.
Local figures on maize production may no longer reflect reality, since
they do not account for seasonal migration to Quintana Roo for the
purposes of milpa cultivation. In addition, the writings available
on Chan Kom (Redfield, 1950) as well as my own impressions indicate
that livestock may be an important cash cr0p in the maize zone, out-
stripping maize in value. This would account for the fact that
income is strongly correlated with per capita value of henequen pro-
duction but not with per capita value of maize production. Finally,
the accuracy of the maize production figures is somewhat questionable,
as mentioned above.

The fact that measures of cash income and per capita measures
of productivity proved more useful for predicting participation in
craft production than crop yields per hectare suggests that the char-
acteristics of the natural environment may be less significant in
explaining local variation than historically based systems of land
tenure, population concentration, and distribution of wealth. To
take Cacalchén as a case in point, the crop yield figures for this
community are very close to the means: 633.6 kgs. per hectare for

henequen and 7l2.5 kgs. per hectare for maize. But its population

98

density is nearly twice the mean for all municipios (55.53 persons
per square kilometer) and only l6 percent of its employed population
report incomes over 200 pesos monthly. This would indicate caution
in utilizing ecological explanations which focus on natural environ-
mental characteristics alone.

The slight relationship between rates of population increase
and participation in craft production suggests that conditions in
twentieth-century Yucatan are not strictly comparable to those of
eighteenth-century Europe. For one thing, Yucatan's economy as a
whole, and its export sector in particular, is dominated not by
cottage industry but by henequen production. Transportation, commu-
nication, and public health services are more highly developed than
in eighteenth-century Europe, and industrialization has proceeded
rapidly in recent Mexican history (albeit not in the Yucatecan country-
side). The result is a much higher rate of population growth than
occurred anywhere in the world 200 years ago, and a sizeable trend
toward rural-urban migration with the consequent concentration of a
large proportion of the population in large urban areas. If we accept
the proposition that out-migration is a viable alternative to craft
production for communities with insufficient agricultural resources,
we may find in this an explanation for the slight association between
population increase and participation in craft production in Yucatan.

Finally, it may be pointed out that while the organization
of cottage industry by merchants was a 'progressive' phenomenon in
the economic setting of eighteenth-century Europe, in the sense of

having led to the more complex organization of production under the

99

factory system, the same cannot be said for present-day Mexico.

Here cottage industry and the factory system exist side by side, in
large part producing different kinds of goods for different markets
and utilizing different categories of labor. In other words, cottage
industry is not where the major action is in Yucatan today, in terms
of the total picture of incomes, distribution of wealth, capital
formation, and economic expansion. It is only a part of the total

picture.

100

Footnotes--Chapter 3

IThe demographic variables were the only exceptions. The
means for both groups and the results of the difference-of-means
test are:

 

Sample Non-sample
Variable Municipios Municipios Value of Z
(N=45) (N=60)
Population size 6108.222 h025.217 2.152*
Population density 27.hh1 18.h91 2.367*
Population increase 14.713 22.75“ -2.913*
Henequen yields 739.847 692.621 1.44%
Maize yields 655.378 635.219 0.308
Per capita value
of henequen 555.913 373.516 1.691
Per capita value _
of maize 90.8%8 lh6.653 1.856
Income h3.h67 51.600 -1.783
Literacy 65.200 65.900 '0.299

 

*significant at .05 level

2The three demographic variables show the following inter-
correlations: population size with population density, .1023, p = .252;
population size with population increase, .h331, p = .001; population
density with population increase, .9027, p = .003. Pearson's correla-
tion was used to measure these correlations.

3Percent reporting incomes over 200 pesos monthly is strongly
correlated with per capita value of henequen production (.5852,
p = .001) but not with per capita value of maize production (.lth,

p = .238).

CHAPTER 4

RELATIONS 0F PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

IN THE HAMMOCK INDUSTRY

The production of cotton hammocks differs from that of the
traditional henequen hammocks in that the supply of cotton cord is
concentrated in the hands of a small number of merchants in the city
of Mérida. By contrast, henequen cord may be made by the weaver from
locally grown henequen, or acquired at very low cost from local pro-
ducers. The result is a dual system of production: weavers of hene-
quen hammocks typically operate as simple commodity producers, while
weavers of cotton hammocks usually work for a merchant who provides
them with materials and pays them a piece-rate for the labor performed.
The cost of cotton or nylon materials is often too great for the
weaver to sustain the investment that would be required to operate
independently.

Since no systematic data were collected on the production of
henequen hammocks,l the focus of this section is on the relations of
production and distribution which pertain to cotton hammocks. These
relations involve a network of ties linking together city merchants,
small-town middlemen, agents, weavers, and venteros ambulantes
(travelling salesmen). Before describing the organization of these

relations, however, it is necessary to give the reader an idea of

101

102

of the equipment, materials, and technical processes involved in making

a hammock.

Tools and Techniques

The making of a Yucatecan hammock involves what is, strictly
speaking, not a process of weaving at all, but a form of netting (see
Figure 3). Unlike the technique used by the Lacandon and the Indians
of South America, the Yucatecan hammock is produced by creating a net
in which the threads twist around one another rather than being tied
in knots. The result is a strong but comfortable framework which
stretches to fit the body. The origins of this type of hammock are
not known, but it appears to have been introduced into Yucatan in early
colonial times, perhaps from the Caribbean (Irogoyen, 197%).

The hammock is made on a large vertical loom called a bastidor,
consisting of two parallel vertical poles held in position by hori-
zontal cross-bars at top and bottom (see Figure 4). The loom forms
a rectangle some 180 to 190 centimeters in height and varying in
length in accord with the size of the hammock being made. Each ver-
tical pole has a base to hold it upright, and is slotted to hold the
cross-bars. The cross-bars are notched at regular intervals to allow
adjusting the distance between the two end poles so as to make ham-
mocks of varying lengths.

In common usage, the length of a hammock is measured in terms
of cuartas. The cuarta is a traditional measure equalling a hand-span;
it tends to vary somewhat in actual usage but is supposed to measure

20 centimeters. Hammocks may vary in length from 8 to 12 cuartas

103

 

Figure 3.--Netting technique used in the edge (orilla) and body

 

(cuerEo) of the hammock.

101-I

 

Figure h.--Loom (bastidor) used to make hammocks.

 

 

 

 

F F

‘9: >2)

Figure 5.--Shuttle (aguia), approximately one-half actual size.

105

(160 to ZhO cm.), 10 or 11 cuartas being the most common size for
an adult.

A wooden shuttle (ggulg) completes the equipment needed.
This shuttle also varies somewhat in size, from 20 to 25 cm. in
length, and has a U-shaped slot around which the cord is wound (see
Figure 5). A large shuttle is somewhat more difficult to use than a
smaller one, but holds more thread and thus requires less frequent
reloading.

The weaver begins the hammock by forming the edge, called the
951112, The cord or thread is wound horizontally five or six turns
around the loom, and then knotted together at regular intervals in an
equal number of turns around the loom with thread which has been wound
on the shuttle. This produces a strip about 3 cm. wide of 20 to 30
parallel threads knotted firmly together at intervals of 6 to 8 cm.
(see Figure 3).

I Then the body (cuerpo) of the hammock itself is begun. This

involves winding a thread continuously several turns (usually 20)
around the loom above the completed orilla. This loom thread is

referred to as the guia, base, or cuerda. These threads are then

 

linked together, beginning at one end of the loom, by twisting the
shuttle thread over one, under two, and back over two and under one.
Each such pass of the shuttle is referred to as a mglba. ‘This move is
repeated until the other end of the loom is reached. The weaver then
turns and works back along the other side of the loom, incorporating
an additional loom thread. Each complete turn around the loom is

referred to as a vuelta.

106

The number of mallas in the length of the hammock will vary
considerably depending on the total length of the hammock, the type
of thread, and the desired density of the net.~ A hammock of henequen.
cord will usually have only 15 to 20 mallas, although finer cord may
be used resulting in a denser weave. If made of cotton or nylon
cord, the hammock will have between 50 and 80 mallas. A hammock of
very fine cotton thread may have as many as 110.

A completed section of 20 vueltas with the shuttle is referred
to as a fragi§_and contains a total of 80 threads (A0 loom threads
and ho shuttle threads). Weavers tend to estimate the progress of
the work in terms of the number of franjas completed. A large hammock
of fine cord will contain 20 to 25 franjas, depending on the length,
while a small one of coarser material may have only seven to nine.

When the body of the hammock is finished, the second orilla
is added. Figure 3 illustrates the netting pattern involved in both
the orilla and the body.

The next step involves making the arms or brazg§_by which the
hammock is hung. A thicker thread is generally used for this purpose.
A number of procedures may be followed, all resulting in the same
type of arm. In one of them a stick perhaps 2 cm. in diameter and
55 to 60 cm. in length is tied to one of the and poles of the loom,
as shown in Figure 6. Then a shuttle is inserted vertically in the
body of the hammock at a distance from the pole equal to one-half the
hammock plus one hand-width. The body of the hammock is then tied
tightly in a bundle just beyond this point. The thread to be used

for the arms is pushed down through the 100ps at the end, and tied to

107

 

 

 

 

 

shuttle tied

 

 

 

 

. .
. . u
......

   

' ~’~.u
.~

Illlllllllllllllllllli“

arm threads, passing
through end loops
and around shuttle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A-frame
‘1

 

 

 

knob

 

 

 

 

 

 

7
body of the

hammock
arm threads

J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6.--Two alternate methods for making arms (brazos).

108

the first loop at the bottom. Then, every four or five loops, the
thread is pulled through and looped around the shuttle, passing over
the stick. When all the loops have been secured in this manner, the
arm threads are tied in a bundle at the point where they pass around
the shuttle, and the shuttle is removed. The process is then repeated
for the other arm.

A second technique for making arms involves the use of an
A-shaped frame (called an a) which is attached to the end of the loom,
extending beyond it (see Figure 6). The loom threads are looped
around a knob at its apex. The rest of the procedure is the same as
with the first method described. A third technique consists of loop-
ing the arm threads over a hook fixed in the wall. Whatever proce-
dure is followed, the important consideration is that the threads in
the arms be of equal length so that when occupied the hammock does not
sag to one side or the other, or develop an uncomfortable ridge in
the middle.

When this step has been completed, the hammock is removed
from the loom by removing the top cross-bar and sliding the hammock
off the end poles.

The final step involves tying the arm threads in a strong
loop by which the hammock will be hung. These loops are called
argollas or munecas (see Figure 7). To do this a long piece of thread
is quadrupled and then wound tightly around and around the arm
threads for some 10 to 15 cm. either side of the center, the ends

being wound several times around both sides and tightly secured.

109

 

’f/r
ff?

\\\\\\\\\\

’f/x

/

.RN

‘\

/

  

making the

100p

 

loop

d
e
t
e
l
D..
m
0
C

Figure 7.--Making loops.

110

Materials and Measurements

Although cotton thread has been in use for about a century
(Irigoyen, 1974) to make hammocks for the well-to-do, its use has
increased greatly in recent years as a result of increased production
and the lowering of prices, as well as the increase in the numbers of
people who can afford such hammocks.

During the years following World War I, hammock thread was
imported from EurOpe in two forms: a cord of German make which was
also used for fish nets, and a finer English-made thread referred to
locally as g§2_(actually Coats and Clark's Bear brand). In the 19305
production was begun in Mexico (in some cases with the participation
of foreign capital) by Hilos Cadena, La Marina, and La Cigfiefia. With
the advent of World War II, imported thread began to disappear from
the market. This encouraged domestic production and several other
companies entered the market.

Until recent years, all of the Mexican-made thread used for
hammocks came from Mexico City and Puebla, but two factories have now
been established in Merida, both by merchants who have been dealing
in hammocks and hammock thread for some years. A third merchant has
materials made in Puebla under his own label. All of the producers
sell thread in several qualities and thicknesses under a variety of
brand names.

The quality of thread is judged by fineness, the number of
strands which are twisted together, the tightness of the twist, and
the color fastness of the dyes. In addition, the finer threads are

polished with a starch solution and wound on spools (called carretes

111

or tubos), while the coarser thread is sold in skeins (called madejas).

This coarse thread is referred to locally as hilo de madeja, while the

 

finer, more expensive thread is called fillers.

It is possible that hammocks for the rich were once made of
genuine silk, but today a hammock of §£g2_is made of celanese, a
material considered to have little durability. Nylon, by contrast,
is very durable and color-fast, but it has certain disadvantages.
It is harder to work with than cotton because it is slippery, and all
the knots must be fused with heat to prevent ravelling. Also, some
people complain that a nylon hammock is less comfortable. In hot
weather its lack of absorbency makes it feel sticky, while in cold
weather nylon is harder and colder to the touch than cotton. Never-
theless, nylon has increased in popularity in recent years because of
its durability and striking appearance.

The cost of a hammock may vary widely depending on the
class and quality of the material chosen, the size of the hammock,
and the density of its weave. Henequen hammocks are the least
expensive and are still used predominantly by the peasant population,
although they are increasingly acquiring inexpensive cotton hammocks.
A hammock of high-quality cotton thread may cost double or triple one
made of a lower-quality cotton. Nylon is generally somewhat more
expensive than cotton, although it competes with the better cotton
threads.

While the length of a hammock can be measured in terms of
cuartas (or centimeters), the width cannot be judged in the same

manner because the hammock stretches. Consequently, the most common

112

method of measuring the capacity of a hammock is in terms of the
quantity of thread used in the body. A hammock containing two madejas

(variously referred to locally as madejgs, cadejos, or trechos) is

 

described as a hammock of dos madejas. These skeins weigh approxi-

 

mately 250 grams, so that the quantity of thread in a hammock can be
measured by weighing it. Polished thread is generally sold six tubes
to a box, so that a hammock with 12 tubes of hilera in the body is
called a hammock of dos cajas (two boxes). The equivalencies involved

are shown in Table 17.

Design

A variety of designs can be created by using different colors
for the loom thread and the shuttle thread, or by using two shuttle
threads of contrasting colors which are then alternated in a regular
pattern. Nearly all of the designs, however, involve the same basic
stitch and result in the same form of net. i

The designs most frequently used are the simplest ones.2
For example, jaspeado refers to using a loom thread of one color,
with a contrasting color used as the shuttle thread. Thus the loom
can be wound continuously without cutting and knotting the thread, and
the only delay in weaving occurs when the shuttle must be reloaded.
Whenever required, knots are made at the end of the hammock, never
in the middle of the body. The second most popular design involves
winding on a continuous loom thread in one color and then using two
contrasting shuttle threads in alternation, the effect varying some-

what in terms of the number of turns or vueltas made with each shuttle:

113

 

Amoco—v _m_coe

 

 

 

 

 

o:~ ~_ omm_u0mm_ com—loos. m m i_cumz co occmcu

o- __ coo—loom. om~_iom__ m.~ m

com o. mum—umn__ coo—loom N : AE:_UoEV mcm_coz
oo~-om. o_um mmmimwm ommioom m._ m

om. m .tm omo-oom .tm oom-oms _ N A__msmv mu_£u
mcoqu_ucou mmucmsu nou:_oc_ >_co momma mmaoumz

mEc< >uOm m0 m0
>vOm mo Lumen; unm_m3 oume_x0caa< consaz consaz

 

.meOEEmc mo mucuemczmmoe vcmncmumui.m_ o_nmh

11h

arroz or arroz doble--four vueltas with each color
arroz fino or arrozitos--two vueltas with each color

crucecitas--one vuelta with each color

The designs less frequently used are those which require chang-

ing the color of the loom thread frequently and those which require

somewhat more complex manipulations:

cintas, franjjtas or rayitas--solid-color stripes are
produced by winding 10 or so vueltas on the loom in one color
and weaving them with a shuttle thread of the same color;
then repeating the process with another color.

perritos--consists of three vueltas of the loom thread in
one color and three vueltas of the shuttle thread in a con-
trasting color; the loom and shuttle colors are then reversed
for the next three vueltas; the original pattern being
resumed with the next three, and so on.

pepita--similar to perritos, but completing only one and
one-half vueltas at a time.

cabello de angel-~similar to perritos and pepita, but com-
pleting only one-half vuelta at a time.

It can be readily seen that these frequent changes in the

color of the thread require frequent knotting and changing of shut-

tles, thus increasing the time necessary to make the hammock.

stitch:

There are a few designs which require variations on the basic

plumilla--using contrasting colors in the loom and shuttle
threads, the shuttle is pushed consistently to one side with
each stitch or malla for 10 vueltas, then consistently to
the other side for the next 10. The result is a sort of
zig-zag or herringbone appearance.

crepé--instead of doing vueltas the weaver works back and
forth on the same side of the loom. This requires the abil-
ity to perform the basic stitch in reverse.

petate--three threads are picked up with each pass of the
shuttle instead of two.

115

Of these three designs, plumilla is the simplest and the
only one used with any frequenty.

In a survey of 105 households involved in weaving in
Cacalchén, the number reporting the use of each of these designs was

as follows:

arroz 9A
jaspeada 88
arrozitos A8
cintas 3A
perritos 33
pepita 33
plumilla 31
crepé 8
petate 7
cabello de angel 5
crucecitas A

As the designs become more complex and time-consuming they are less
likely to be used. Respondents frequently stated that they would
use more elaborate designs if the pay were better, but as it is they
delay the work too much. Also, it is easier fiaradults to supervise

children when the children are given simple patterns to do.

Relations of Production
There are several merchants in Mérida specializing in the
sale of both hammock thread and finished hammocks. Typically, these
merchants sell the materials to small-town middlemen, often with the
understanding that the merchant will buy back the finished hammocks

at a prearranged price. If this is the case, the merchant

116

indicates what kinds of hammocks he wants, in terms of length, weight,
density, color, and sometimes design.

The small-town middleman takes the materials and divides
them among the weavers, and/or among a number of agents who work
for him. In turn, the agents distribute the materials to weavers in
surrounding villages. Agents are told what kind of hammock is to be
produced, and they transmit this information to the weaver. Neither
the agents nor the weavers purchase the materials themselves. Upon
completion of the work, the weaver receives a wage from which the
agent has taken his commission. Usually, the weaver makes only the
body of the hammock. Making the arms takes somewhat more skill and
is done by specialists or by the middleman himself and his family.

At this point there are two principal methodscflimarketing or
distributing the finished hammocks. One is to deliver them to the
same supplier in Mérida from whom the materials were purchased, as
per prior agreement. The other involves the use of venteros ambu-
lantes who take the hammocks to Mérida, Progreso, or more distant
points for sale directly to the consumer.

The roles of the various participants in the hammock indus-
try and their relations to one another will now be examined in greater

detail.

City Merchants
In the central business district of Merida there are 8 or 10
permanent shops that specialize in selling both hammocks and hammock

thread. Most of these acquire their hammocks from regular suppliers

117

in the countryside. The shops vary considerably both in volume of
trade and in degree of Speicalization. Most, but not all, carry
other lines of goods: yard goods, sewing notions, items of cloth-
ing. Most rely as much on sales to the local p0pulation as to
tourists.

These hammock merchants have been actively involved in organ-
izing and stimulating production in the countryside, and in seeking
out new markets. In order to insure a regular supply of hammocks,
they make arrangements with small-town middlemen to have the desired
quantities and types of hammocks produced. Although they usually
sell the materials to these middlemen rather than putting them out,
they think of themselves as fabricantes or manufacturers of hammocks.

In addition to the materials sold under these buy-back
arrangements, materials are also sold to middlemen who operate
independently and to the general public. During the period of study,
themiddlemen were charged 6.25-7.00 pesos per madeja (depending on
the brand and weight), 24-28 pesos per caja of hilera (35-38 pesos
for better quality hilera), and 6-6.75 pesos per tube for the cord
used for arms.

When the hammocks have been made up, they are returned to
the merchant and the intermediary is provided with new materials in
exchange, plus cash payments to cover the cost of labor. The going
rates paid to intermediaries, in addition to new materials, in 1971-72
were:

48-55 pesos for a hammock of 3 cajas, with arms

40-50 pesos for a hammock of 2.5 cajas, with arms

118

30-35 pesos for a hammock of 2 cajas, with arms

6.50-7.50 pesos per madeja Ikn‘ a hammock of madejas,
with arms

In expanding their markets, these merchants have followed two
basic strategies: producing cheaper cotton cord within the means
of more and more Yucatecans, and selling finished hammocks to foreign
buyers.

The first tack has led two of the larger enterprises to become
involved in manufacturing their own cotton cord, using imported
spinning and dyeing equipment of European manufacture for this pur-
pose. One of these factories employs 25 workers and has an output
of 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms weekly. The output of the other factory
is probably somewhat less, but it can be estimated that together
they supply one-half to two-thirds of the total supply. Conserva-
tively estimated, their combined production is worth at least 100,000
pesOs weekly, and perhaps as much as 150,000.

The second tack has involved increasing attention to export
possibilities, an activity which will be described in greater detail

in the section on marketing.

Small-Town Middlemen

Small-town middlemen are concentrated in two areas in Yucatan--
the communities of Tixkokob and Teabo--although some operate in other
places.3 From each of these centers, materials are distributed to
weavers in the center and the surrounding towns and villages. Some-
times the materials are distributed directly to the weavers, but

weavers in outlying communities often get materials through agents

119

who specialize in distributing thread for various entrepreneurs. In
this way, intermediaries in Tixkokob supply weavers in Cacalchén,
Tixpeaual, N010, and Yaxkukul. Those in Teabo and the nearby commu-
nity of Chumayel supply weavers in those two towns as well as in
Tipical, Mayapan, and Pencuyut. There are about 20 middlemen operat-
ing in Tixkokob and perhaps an equal number in Teabo and Chumayel
combined.

When weavers and agents come to the middleman's house or
place of business to pick up materials, the madejas or cajas are tied
in bundles, one bundle for each hammock. These materials are weighed
and the weight, color, and number of cuartas for each hammock are
recorded. Sometimes the number of mallas and the design are also
specified. When the finished hammock is delivered it is weighed,
the length measured, and the work inspected for mistakes. The main
risk involved here is that weavers may hold back small amounts of
material for their own use, thus short-weighting their suppliers.

In order to avoid this, and to maintain quality control in general,
middlemen prefer to deal with agents and weavers who are known to be
trustworthy. In order to acquire materials, agents or weavers must
be personally acquainted with the middleman, or know someone who
will vouch for their honesty.

Most dealers discount for underweight, allowing a margin of
10-20 grams per madeja, although one dealer simply cuts off the
supply of materials to that weaver or agent, while another returns

the hammock and demands that the weaver or agent pay for the

120

 

mMOTl/L

 

. YAXKUKUL ‘3‘
\\\
\
NOLO TIXKOKOB ‘o‘ BOKOBA renew-re
u... /.N\\‘ . ::::-.
I ‘
MER D A TIXPEUAL CACAl-CHEN
_' IZAMAL
\
MAYA PAN
, ¢7o
‘tAUMAYEL
TEABO ------ footpath
::::::: unimproved
road
—- all-weather
road

W railway

 

LélP'EZP

kilometers

Figure 8.--Communities involved in hammock-production.

121

materials. Dealers in Tixkokob also discount one peso for each
dropped stitch; these are later repaired while the arms are being
made.

In general, the middlemen in Tixkokob and Teabo sell their
products in somewhat different ways. While both put out materials
with weavers, those in Tixkokob tend to employ venteros ambulantes
for selling their finished products, while those in Teabo usually
deal with the large hammock merchants in Mérida. By bypassing the
large Mérida merchants, and carrying the product directly to the
consumer, those in Tixkokob are able to increase somewhat their
own share of the returns. Those in Teabo have not yet developed
this pattern; as far as I could tell, nearly all of their trade
was with the larger merchants in the city. One intermediary in
Teabo did sell a few hammocks directly to an importer in California,
but this was unusual.

There is another difference between these two centers:
most hammocks made in Tixkokob are made of the coarser and cheaper
hilo de madejas, while Teabo is more heavily involved in producing
hammocks of hilera. One explanation for this is the general belief
on the part of merchants in Merida that the weavers in Teabo are more
willing to take the extra time and effort involved in producing the
more complicated designs and finer weaves involved in more expensive
hammocks.

During the spring and summer of 1972, 13 middlemen were
interviewed: three in Tixkokob, five in Teabo, four in Chumayel, and

one in Tipical. 0f the middlemen interviewed, seven had been in the

122

business for five years or less, five for 8 to 10 years, and one for
43 years. Two of the middlemen in Tixkokob sell exclusively through
venteros ambulantes, often travelling themselves. The others
interviewed deal with the large merchants in Merida (all but two deal
exclusively with one or the other of the two largest city merchants),
exchanging finished hammocks each week for new materials and cash
payments for the labor.

For the most part, these middlemen buy materials for cash
from the merchants in Merida, although three received at least a
part of their materials on credit. The prices charged to these mid-
dlemen are generally the same as the retail prices offered to the
general public. In fact, one merchant consistently sells madejas
of 230 grams to the public at 6.50 pesos, while selling madejas of
250 grams to his regular suppliers at 7.00, resulting in a slightly
higher cost to the intermediary (2.8 centavos per gram, compared with
2.4 centavos per gram). The verbal contract in this case includes
guaranteed buy-back: the dealer can sell out to the merchant at any
time. Nevertheless, although the merchant's ostensible reason is to
maintain quality standards, it would tend to insure his supply; it
might be more difficult for middlemen to recover the original cost
of the materials by selling elsewhere.

The amounts of capital invested in materials by these middle-
men varied considerably. Although some were not willing to talk about
this, six of the dealers reported the investments shown in Table 18.

The sources of capital were also quite varied. One man

began by making and selling henequen hammocks, made of home-spun

123

 

 

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124

cord. After 10 years of this he bought materials for four cotton
hammocks, and began to sell them door to door in Merida. Gradually,
over a period of four years, he saved enough from this activity to
invest 822 pesos with one of the bigger dealers in Merida, becoming
one of his regular suppliers. Another middleman began as a ventero
ambulante in 1929, carrying henequen hammocks to Campeche and
Coatzacoalcos (travelling by train and boat). He later became a
dealer on his own, and is now one of the largest in Tixkokob.

In the typical case, however, the capital invested in putting
out hammocks comes not from working one's way up through the ranks
of the industry in this fashion, but from the proceeds of some other
activity. Three middlemen were owners of small stores and one of a
cantina before entering the hammock business. One got his initial
capital by selling several pigs and combining the money with the
proceeds from that year's milpa. Another began as a young man by
selling several head of cattle which his father had given him.

Still another invested part of the proceeds of selling honey in 1972
when the price of honey was particularly good. One man saved money
from his wages working as a bartender. Another had worked for sev-
eral years buying fruit in Oxkutzcab and selling it in Merida; he
shifted his capital from this to hammocks. One had been a bracero
in California prior to entering the business; it is not known for
sure, however, that his capital came from that source.

Just as the profits from other activities may be invested
in hammocks, the reverse is also true. One man opened a store with

the proceeds of the hammock trade; another set up a corn mill.

125

At least four of those interviewed learned the trade by
working for a relative, then striking out on their own.

Volume varies considerably, from as few as 20 to as many as
200 hammocks weekly. Some of the dealers interviewed were evasive
about the volume of business, and in many cases itwas not possible
to verify their statements in this regard. On one occasion, however,
a Merida merchant supplied me with a list of hammocks which had been
delivered to him that week by five of the middlemen, four of whom
were later interviewed. In these cases, no great discrepancies were
found regarding volume and prices.

On this particular occasion, each middleman took new mate-
rials in exchange for those delivered, plus cash amounts varying
from 389 to 3,291 pesos. Of this money, 72-75 percent can be cal-
culated as representing the wages paid to weavers and agents (a
matter to be discussed in greater detail shortly). Weekly profits
therefore ranged from approximately 98 pesos to 617 pesos in these
five cases. This calculation does not, however, take into account
the labor cost of putting on the arms, or the time and money con-
sumed in transporting materials and hammocks. Often, the middlemen
themselves make the arms. If not, they pay specialists to do this.
These profits, then, are gross rather than net.

Judging by reports of volume from other middlemen, it can be
assumed that only six or eight intermediaries in the state make as
much as 600 pesos weekly. The average is more likely in the neigh-
borhood of 200 to 300. Nevertheless, these incomes are good ones for

rural Yucatan.

126

During the period of study, the wages paid by these middle-
men to weavers (or agents) varied from five to six pesos per madeja,
and from 12 to 15 pesos per caja. The wages for hammocks of hilera
were somewhat higher in Teabo than in Tixkokob; this reflects the
previously mentioned differences in the typical patterns of special-
ization of these two communities. Teabo produces almost exclu-
sively for the Mérida market, and it is largely in Mérida that the
Yucatecan burgeoisie, the group most likely to buy hammocks of
hilera, resides. Tixkobob usually produces for more distant markets,
where hammocks are sold to foreign and national tourists as well as
to permanent residents. Their customers are, on the whole, less
acquainted with hammocks and with the features by which quality is
judged. The more expensive hammocks would not compete well under

those circumstances.

Agents

Most of my observations of and interviews with agents took
place in Cacalchén. Consequently, the discussion which follows
concentrates on that community.

While middlemen are usually male, agents are often female.
They are much more likely than middlemen to come from the ranks of
weavers. Agents perform the task of transporting materials to out-
lying communities and distributing them among weavers there. A few
of them work directly with merchants in Merida, but most work for
small-town middlemen.

Agents in Cacalchén, referred to locally as hamaqueras,

operate in the following fashion: early Saturday morning they make

127

the trip to Tixkokob, 17 kilometers distant, either by bus or train,
carrying in large cloth sacks the hammocks which have been finished
during the previous week. These are delivered to the middlemen who
have provided the materials. New materials are picked up and the
middleman pays the agent for the labor. Typically, each agent
distributes materials for several middlemen, and each middleman
supplies several agents. Consequently, delivering the hammocks and
collecting the new materials may take most of the morning. When

the agent has finished her rounds she may make a few small purchases
in the Tixkokob market, and then return to Cacalchén on the next
bus. Occasionally 15 or 20 of the hamaqueras will combine and rent
a pickup truck for the return trip. This does not cost significantly
less than the bus, but saves time, allowing them to arrive home an
hour or so earlier. Upon their return, the weavers come to collect
their wages and a new supply of materials for the next week.

Because agents often deal with several suppliers and dis-
tribute materials to numerous weavers, it is usually necessary to
keep written records of the name of the supplier, the name of the
weaver, the color and size of the hammock, and any other specifi-
cations required by the middleman. Sometimes, the finished hammocks
are also tagged with this information by the agent.

The necessity of keeping written records places a limit on
the volume of business transacted by those few agents who are illit-
erate. Literacy has an obvious advantage here. Another limit on
volume is imposed by the necessity of insuring that weavers do not

short-weight their suppliers. A scale for weighing hammocks costs

128

approximately 150 pesos. An agent who does not have a scale can
distribute materials only to close relatives and friends whom she
can trust. Otherwise, her supply of materials from the middleman
is endangered. Since the smaller operators earn only about 20 pesos
weekly, buying a scale represents a major investment and a decision
to expand the scale of operations.

The only other expenditure required of an agent is fare for
the bus or train. Bus fare is 2.80 pesos round trip to Tixkokob,
and train fare is about half that. One of the larger middlemen in
Tixkokob always provides his agents with bus fare.

For most agents, distributing materials is a part-time task.
There are a few who devote themselves full-time to this activity, and
they spend considerable amounts of time seeking out supplies and
recruiting weavers in order to increase the volume of their opera-
tions. Some have been active in teaching people how to weave. In
Cacalchén, full-time agents distribute materials not only there but
in towns farther east on the rail line: Bokoba, Tekanto, and Izamal.

The commission normally earned by agents is 50 centavos per
madeja. In some cases they are able to increase this amount. For
example, by seeking a supplier in Mérida who might pay 6-6.50 pesos
per madeja, an agent could increase her commission by continuing to
pay only 5.00 pesos per madeja to the weavers, the going rate for
wages. The agent thus has two strategies open for increasing income:
increasing the volume of business at the same commission, and seeking

suppliers who will pay a bit more.

129

In either case, the agent is reliant on the good will of
suppliers and will try to personalize the relationship in order to
increase her share of the supplier's trade, or to insure against
reduction when materials are scarce. One way this may be done is by

attempting to create ties of compadrazgo with the middleman. This

 

happened in a number of cases between agents in Cacalchén and
middlemen in Tixkokob. In addition, however, the agent must develop
a reputation for reliability--for being able to produce hammocks of
the desired quality within a reasonable time period. Thus agents
prefer to work with known weavers, people who can be trusted not to
cheat on weight, not to make mistakes, and to complete the work
promptly. Inability to guarantee good work and prompt delivery
jeopardizes the agent's supply.

One would think that the distribution of materials would be
a good way to learn the business, accumulate capital, and become an
intermediary. This is apparently not the case. Some of the agents
in Cacalchén have worked in this capacity for years; none has yet
managed to invest in more than a handful of hammocks. These very
small-scale dealers find themselves easily wiped out by any small
setback.

One woman began by investing in materials for three ham-
mocks and gradually worked up to seven by reinvesting her profits.
Then one of the weavers turned in an underweight hammock, and the
city merchant with whom she was dealing refused to buy it back.
Selling this one hammock independently caused considerable incon-

venience and discouraged the woman from her efforts to become an

130

entrepreneur. Another small dealer, 3 man, sold off part of his
stock in order to make necessary repairs on his house when the
rainy season arrived and the roof began to leak. He then decided
that the small number left, only four hammocks, was not worth the
trouble. He sold out, keeping one of the hammocks for his family.
Economies of scale are clearly implied here. Going to
Mérida costs 5.80 pesos, round trip by bus, or 3.00 by train.
Making this trip in order to turn over two or three hammocks is not
worth the fare, or the loss of a day's labor time, when more can be
earned with less risk by handling a large number of hammocks for

someone else.

Weavers

The characteristics of weavers will be examined in greater
detail in Chapter 5. Here I shall restrict my remarks to a few
general observations on investment, labor time, and wages.

Generally, households involved in weaving own one loom for
each weaver, although occasionally looms are borrowed from friends
or relatives, or two or more members of the family will work alter-
nately on the same loom. Looms are made by local carpenters and
are fairly inexpensive. During the time of the study the cost of a
loom was 35 to 40 pesos in the Teabo area and 50 to 60 pesos in
Tixkokob and Cacalchén. Shuttles are also made locally, or can be
purchased in Mérida for 2.50 to 3.00 pesos.

The length of time required to make a hammock is influenced

both by individual skill and by the number of hours which can be

131

devoted to weaving. Most weavers work only part-time, varying their
hours from day to day and week to week. The work requires little
concentration once the skill has been mastered, and can be inter-
rupted at any point. Each person in the household may do a few
vueltas, although one person may be principally responsible for

the work.

Under these circumstances precise estimates are not pos-
sible, but it typically takes the better part of a day to weave one
madeja. A few individuals are able to complete two madejas in one
day, but this is not common. An equivalent quantity of hilera takes
somewhat longer, since it is finer and requires more mallas. Few
weavers are able to complete a hammock of three cajas in less than
two weeks. Even those persons who have the ability and the time
find that the sustained effort puts uncomfortable strain on the body,
since all weaving is done standing up. Consequently, most people
work at weaving only a few hours a day unless there is an immediate
need for cash. Frequently, weavers will put forth a burst of effort
at the end of the week, working late Friday night or rising early
Saturday morning to complete a hammock to be delivered that day.
Otherwise, they would have to wait another week to be paid.

Weavers are paid by the piece, rates being fairly constant
throughout Yucatan. The major source of variation in wage rates
has to do with the weaver's location and the source of the mate-
rials. Those who have direct access to middlemen earn more than
those who are dependent on agents. During the period of study,

weavers in Cacalchén typically received 5.00 pesos per madeja and

132

12.00 per caja from agents, while those in Tixkokob were paid
5.50-6.00 and 12.50, respectively, by middlemen there. In Teabo,
Tipical, and Chumayel, weavers received 5.00-6.00 per madeja and
14.00-15.00 per caja, while those in the outlying communities of
Mayapan and Pencuyut received somewhat less.

Table 19 represents the approximate labor times required
for weaving hammocks of various sizes, and the corresponding wages.
Hourly earnings can be estimated to range from 60 centavos to l peso,
with only the more skilled falling into the upper end of this range.
At these rates, few weavers earn more than 4-5 pesos daily or 20-30
weekly. Wages are low compared to other kinds of work available to
the rural p0pulation: agricultural labor (about 10 pesos daily) and
domestic service in Mérida (150-200 pesos monthly, plus room and
board).

As will become clear in the next chapter, weaVing does not
pay a living wage. That it is done at all is a reflection of the
widespread underemployment in rural Yucatan. Hammock-weaving is
an activity which can absorb labor time not otherwise employable:
the odd hours and moments which women have available between cooking,
laundry, and child care; the time available to men after their work
in the fields is completed; the otherwise unproductive labor of
juveniles.

A few words need to be added about those individuals who
Specialize in making arms. Nearly all of the hammocks made in
Cacalchén are delivered to dealers in Tixkokob without arms. The

workers there who put on the arms are paid in accord with the size

133

 

 

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134

of the hammock, usually I peso per madeja or 2.00-2.50 per caja.
Those with practice can finish 8 or 10 hammocks of 2 madejas per
day, earning from 16-20 pesos. Obviously, this task is considered

preferable to weaving.

Seasonal Fluctuations in Production

Fluctuations in production levels are principally determined
by demand. During the cool months from November through February
sales are slow, with a temporary upsurge corresponding to the
Christmas holidays. During the hot months from March through
August sales are high.

These variations appear to reflect in part the ups and downs
in tourism (highest during the summer months and Christmas holidays)
and in part the weather conditions in Yucatan and in other areas
where hammocks are sold. Venteros find that sales are slow in the
Gulf Coast region during the rainy season, from June to November.
Increasingly, production levels reflect export sales to the United
States, which peak in the spring and early summer.

In anticipation of these variations, entrepreneurs begin to
restrict the supply of materials in July and weavers face difficul-
ties in securing adequate supplies to keep them employed at normal
capacity. Thread continues to diminish toward the end of the year,
remaining scarce until January. By the end of January dealers are
again increasing their supplies to weavers and production resumes at
a high level through June.

The larger dealers in Mérida generally build up a sizeable

inventory of finished hammocks during the slow months. When

135

inventories have reached an undesirable level, they tend to lower
the prices they pay to producers, or occasionally, to cut off pur-
chases altogether except from suppliers they are especially anxious
to keep. When this happens the small-town enterpreneurs who depend
on them face considerable difficulty in disposing of their hammocks
until sales begin to pick up again.

As sales decline, wages paid to weavers also may decline
somewhat. In July of 1972, some of the dealers in Tixkokob lowered
wages by 50 centavos per madeja. The major cause of lowered pro-
duction, however, is the restriction of the thread supply rather
than the refusal of weavers to work for lower wages. Even when
wages decline there are many weavers who complain about not having
enough work. It is clear that many of them accept the lower wages
as better than none at all, and some even surmise that merchants
lower the wages to force them to produce more. That is, they find
that they have to work harder to make the same amount of money.

The agricultural cycle in Yucatan would appear to have little
effect on fluctuations in hammock production. In the henequen zone,
seasonal variations in labor needs in agriculture are not great,
although they increase somewhat during the spring when new fields
may be cleared and planted in henequen, and during the rains when
the weeds grow faster and cutting them consequently takes somewhat
longer.. In the maize zone, fields are cleared in the winter and
burned in April or May; planting is done in May or June, and weeding
is necessary once or twice during June and early July. The period

of maximum labor expenditure in agriculture thus overlaps in large

136

part with the period of maximum hammock production. Since most of
the weaving is done by women, whereas agricultural work is performed
by men, one would expect little influence of one on the other.

Women and children commonly help with the harvest of the milpa, but
this takes place in the late fall when supplies for weaving hammocks
are also scarce. It seems safe to conclude that fluctuations in
production levels are principally determined by demand rather than
labor availability.

One response to these variations is the tendency for rela-
tionships among middlemen, agents, and weavers to be personalized.
Ties of friendship, kinship, and compadrazgo are utilized by agents
and weavers to insure a steady supply of materials during the lean
months, and by middlemen and agents to recruit weavers during the

months of peak production.

Marketing

As has been mentioned, dealers in Tixkokob typically operate
through venteros ambulantes who travel to distant points, most com-
monly to Chetumal, Campeche, Ciudad Carmen, Villahermosa, and
Coatzacoalcos. Some go as far as Belize, Guatemala, and Acapulco;
others concentrate their efforts closer to home, in Merida or
Progreso. The dealer provides the hammocks to the salesman on
credit, collecting a fixed price after they are sold. The salesman
keeps whatever he can get over and above this price. When demand
is high he does well, but sometimes he merely breaks even. During

1972 there were complaints that too many venteros had entered the

I37

market, and that competition had driven earnings below previous
levels.

Sometimes the middleman himself plays the role of ventero,
or perhaps the selling will be entrusted to his sons or other close
relatives. Some venteros spend most of the year away, receiving
new shipments in their distant locations and sending back orders
and remittances. They may return home only two or three times a
year. Others come back every few weeks for a new load. Sometimes,
they look for goods which can be transported in the opposite direc-
tion and sold at home, thus increasing their proceeds.

A few of the dealers in Tixkokob also sell wholesale,
either to merchants in Mérida or to stores in other parts of Mexico.
For a time, one sold directly to an importer in New York.

In Mérida, the greater part of the sales are handled by the
8 or 10 largest shops. In addition to these shops, hammocks are
sold in small quantities in about two dozen market stalls and small
shops which carry a variety of local handicrafts and cater largely
to the tourist trade.

In the streets immediately surrounding the city market, 10
or 12 venteros ambulantes can usually be found selling hammocks.
Most of them commute daily from Tixkokob or other nearby villages
where the hammocks are made. A few work on commission for the mer-
chants with permanent shops, taking an armload of hammocks out on
the street to sell.

In recent years, the export of Yucatecan hammocks to the

United States has assumed increasing importance. This part of the

138

trade is handled almost exclusively by the two or three largest
dealers in Mérida, and during the study period one of these dealers
estimated that half of his total sales were going to export.

The selling price of a hammock varies considerably depending
on size, quality of materials, where it is sold, and the type of
customer. The large shops are more likely to charge fixed prices;
venteros ambulantes to charge whatever they think the traffic will
bear. Venteros are not above misrepresenting the quality of their
merchandise, particularly to an obviously green tourist. On the
other hand, tourists will frequently demand ridiculously cheap
bargains, on the general assumption that the seller always asks
double what the goods are ”really worth.“ In the absence of shared
information, price-making in these situations is erratic and
unsystematic; the seller's margin is subject to a large element of
chance.

The situation is rather different in the case of sales to
native Yucatecans. As customers, they are more knowledgeable about
the prices and quality, and are more likely to seek out reputable
producers or dealers. The prices prevailing in these shops during
the study period are shown in Table 20.

Prices are also fairly uniform in the case of sales to U.S.
importers. These customers are likely to shop around and to
acquaint themselves with the price, quality, and reputation of
various dealers. Competition among these dealers to land export

contracts is fairly intense. Nevertheless, there are a number of

139

factors which operate to create an oligopolistic situation in regard

to the export market.

Table 20.--Prevailing prices for finished hammocks, Mérida, 1971-72.

 

 

Size Price, in Pesos
2 madejas 40-50
3 madejas 60-70
4 madejas 80-90
5 madejas IOO-120
6 madejas 120-145
2 cajas (equivalent to 4 madejas) 120-140
2.5 cajas (equivalent to 5 madejas) 140-160
3 cajas (equivalent to 6 madejas) 175-200

 

The larger dealers are, in two cases, also the manufacturers
of materials, and this form of vertical integration gives them con-
siderable influence over the supplies and prices of materials.

Those large dealers who do not manufacture their own supplies are
able to buy cheaply in large quantities from factories in Mexico
City and Puebla; they in turn sell to smaller dealers.

Export orders are often quite large, involving hundreds or
even thousands of hammocks. Only the larger dealers have the capi-
tal and inventories to insure prompt delivery in such large quanti-
ties. One dealer claimed to have an inventory of 1,000,000 pesos

in hammocks. Related to this are problems of quality control. For

140

example, one dealer in New York placed an order for 1,000 hammocks,
with fairly rigorous specifications as to size, length, weight,
colors, and design. The merchant who filled this order had to put
out orders to his suppliers for 1,300 hammocks, since many of those
returned did not quite meet the specifications of the importer.

The larger dealers are also more familiar with the instru-
ments of international transactions, and because of their business
connections usually find it somewhat easier to secure export visas,
required for any shipment over 10 hammocks. Some of the small-town
middlemen I interviewed expressed the desire to export directly to
customers in the United States, but were unaware of the proce-
dures involved or of how to contact potential customers. By con-
trast, the larger dealers in Mérida make use of advertising, or even
take trips abroad in search of markets. They also tend to have at
least some facility in communicating in English and are acquainted
with the niceties of how to wine and dine potential customers.

It is difficult to estimate the volume of hammocks which are
funneled into the export market, but the trade is certainly worth
several thousand dollars weekly during the height of the season.
Hammocks are shipped not only to the U.S., but to Canada, Europe,
and parts of Central America. These large orders tend to be concen-
trated in the spring and early summer, the warm months in the north-
ern latitudes, and appear to have considerable impact on production

levels throughout Yucatan.

14]

Distribution of the Returns

 

At this point the system of hammock production can be
analyzed in terms of the relationship between production and dis-
tribution. The particular form taken by the distribution of the
product is implied in the relations of production: under capital-
ism the worker relates to the process of production as labor, the
entrepreneur as capital; their shares of the product take the form
of wages and profits, respectively (Marx, 1970:200-204). In the
hammock industry, the roles of labor and capital are divided among
various persons involved in different stages of the process of pro-
duction.

Capital enters into the system in several ways. The mer-
chants in Mérida invest in an inventory of materials and finished
hammocks, investments which may total several hundred thousand pesos.
Other costs include maintaining a place of business and hiring one
(or two full-time employees. The small-town middlemen invest several
hundreds or thousands of pesos in the actual production process,
usually paying cash for the materials and taking most of the risks
of production delays, spoiled goods, and the like. They pay the
costs of transporting the materials to the weavers and the finished
hammocks to Mérida. In some cases, these costs are shared by the
agents who work for the middlemen. Weavers invest 45-65 pesos each
in the necessary tools, and provide their own places of work.

Labor also enters the process of production in several forms:
the labor of the weavers, the making of arms by specialists, and the

making of arms by the middlemen themselves (or their families).

142

The transport of goods by middlemen and agents also involves an
element of labor.

The weavers and arms-makers in this system are laborers;
their ”capital investment” is insignificant in terms of the total
costs of production. Agents are likewise laborers; they carry out
the activities of transport and distribution of materials to weavers.
Consequently, the returns to weavers, arms-makers, and agents take
the form of wages.

The roles of the middlemen are somewhat more ambiguous.

Some of them are capitalists only, while others are both capitalists
employing wage labor and commodity producers contributing their own
labor to the finishing of the product. Hence their share of the
returns consists partly of profits and partly of wages.

The role of the city merchants is that of capital only, since
they contribute no labor to the production process. But neither do
they advance their own capital directly for production. Their rela-
tions with the small-town middlemen take the form of commodity
exchange: selling materials and buying back finished hammocks. Their
role is that of merchant capitalists, rather than industrial capital-
ists. (The same individuals may, of course, be industrial capital-
ists with respect to other activities such as the manufacture of
materials.)

An estimation of the distribution of returns within this
system can be derived by analyzing the costs and mark-ups in a typi-
cal case. For an average hammock of four madejas, purchased in

Mérida at 85 pesos, the following breakdown applies:

I43

 

cost of materials 41 pesos 48.2%
weaver's wages 20 23.5
agent's commission 2 2.4
arms-maker's wages 4 4.7
middleman's mark-up 4 4.7
city merchant's mark-up 14 16.5
Total 85 pesos 100.0%

These proportions will vary somewhat from case to case.

If agents are not used, the weaver's wages may amount to slightly
more. The middleman's share will double if he makes the arms him-
self. The Mérida merchant's profit varies with his selling price.
In the case presented here the middleman has total costs of 67 pesos
(not counting transportation) and sells at 71 pesos; his profit is
four pesos, or 6 percent. The Mérida merchant buys back the finished
hammock at 71 pesos and sells at 85, for a profit of 14 pesos or
19.7 percent (not counting his previous profit on the sale of
materials). From the point of view of conventional economics, such
costs as rent, taxes, insurance, and the like would be deducted from
this amount to arrive at net profit.

In terms of Marxist analysis, the source of all profits is
surplus-value, which represents the unpaid labor of the worker. ”The
rate of surplus-value is therefore an exact expression for the degree
of exploitation of labour-power by capital, or of the labourer by
the capitalist“ (Marx, 1967, vol. 1:218). Whereas the rate of profit

in bourgeois economics is calculated in terms of the total capital

mu

advanced, no matter what its composition, the rate of surplus-value
is calculated in terms of the cost of labor only.

The value of the product is considered to be made up of three
parts: the value of the constant capital (raw materials and means of
production), the value of the variable capital (wages), and the
surplus-value. In calculating the rate of surplus-value the value
of the constant capital is subtracted from the value of the product.
Subtracting variable capital from the remainder gives the surplus-
value. Then the £2£12.°f surplus-value to variable capital yields
the £§£g_of surplus-value, or degree of exploitation (Marx, 1967:
212-20,303-21,53l-34).

Taking the case analyzed here, and assuming that the costs
of materials (constant capital) and labor (variable capital) are
equal to their values, the rate of surplus-value can be calculated

as follows:

a. selling price less constant
capital 30 pesos

b. surplus-value: (a) less
variable capital 4 pesos

c. rate of surplus-value realized
by the middleman 4/26 or 15.4%

d. rate of surplus-value realized
by the merchant 14/26 or 53.8%

e. total rate of surplus-value,
or degree of exploitation 69.2%
If the Mérida merchant does not invest directly in production,
however, how can his share of the returns constitute surplus-value?

According to Marx, “All surplus-value, whatever particular form

Wad-aimh
I.

145

(profit, interest, or rent), it may subsequently crystallise into,
is in substance the materialisation of unpaid labour” (1967, vol. I:
534). The storage function of the merchant, although requiring an
outlay of money, adds nothing to the use-value of the product, since
a hammock which has been on the shelf for some months has no greater
value (and possibly less) than one which has just arrived in the
shop (1967, vol. 2:136-48).

It is the oligopolistic tendencies among the few large Mérida
merchants, with regard both to supplies of materials and to the
export market, which allow them to appropriate a part of the surplus-
value without contributing capital or labor directly to the produc-
tion process.

The middleman can increase his share of the product by sell-
ing independently rather than through the merchants in Mérida, as a

comparison of the following two cases indicates:

 

 

 

Middleman A, Middleman B,

Teabo Tixkokob

cost of materials 41 pesos 41 pesos
weaver's wages 22 20
agent's commission 4
arms-maker's wages 4 4
Total costs 67 69
selling price 71 80

Profit 4 pesos 11 pesos

146

Middleman A sells his hammocks back to the merchant who
supplies his materials. Middleman B sells through venteros, collect-
ing a fixed price from them. The rate of surplus-value realized by
Middleman A is only 15.4 percent, while the rate realized by
Middleman B is 39.3 percent.“

As previously stated, these calculations assume that the
cost of labor-power is equal to its value, an assumption which may
not be justified in the case of the hammock industry. ”The value of
labour-power is determined by the value of the necessaries of life
habitually required by the average labourer. The quantity of these
necessaries is known at any given epoch of a given society, and can
therefore be treated as a constant magnitude” (Marx, 1967, vol. 1:

. 519). The data presented in Chapter 5 suggest that the wages paid
to weavers are not, in fact, adequate to produce and reproduce the
laborer. If the ”average family” were to allocate all available
labor to hammock weaving, they would not be able to support them-
selves. The depreciation of wages in agricultural labor in rural
Yucatan has pushed the labor of women and children onto the market,
but at a rate substantially less than that paid for the labor of adult
males. This differential in the average wages of men and of women
and children, as well as the depreciation in real agricultural wages
in general, allows labor in weaving to be paid less than its value
in terms of the conventional ”necessaries of life.”

The rate of surplus-value, or degree of exploitation, is
magnified several times in the case of hammocks exported to the

United States. Selling prices in the United States are 200 to 350

147

percent higher than in Marida. The same hammock that sells for
80 to 85 pesos in Yucatan brings US$25.00 in New York, equivalent

to 312.50 pesos. The following costs to the importer can be esti-

mated:
price of a hammock of 4 madejas US$6.72 (84 pesos)
14% import duties .94
25% shipping costs _J;EEL_
Total costs to the importer 9.34
selling price 25.00
gross profit 15.66

Of the selling price of $25.00, 13.1 percent represents the
cost of the original materials. An additional 8.3 percent covers
the costs of labor, while 1.3 percent goes to the middleman, 3.5
percent to the Merida merchant, 10.5 percent to import duties and
shipping costs, and 62.6 percent to the importer's mark-up. In
summary, of the money spent by a consumer in New York, most of it
remains in the United States. A smaller share goes to the Yucatecan
merchants and manufacturers of materials, while the smallest share
goes to the weavers and entrepreneurs working in the countryside.

Expressed in terms of surplus-value:

a. selling price less constant

capital and transport costs 250.50 pesos or US$20.04
b. surplus-value 223.50 17.88
c. ratio of surplus-value to 223.50 17.88
variable capital 26.00 2.08

d. rate of surplus-value, or
degree of exploitation 859.6%

148

The rate of surplus-value is shared among three entrepre-
neurs: middleman's share, 15.4 percent; Mérida merchant's share,
50.0 percent; importer's share, 794.2 percent. The shares of the
last two are further shared with others in the form of rent, taxes,
and the like. The differential in the average value of labor-power
between Yucatan and New York allows the importer to realize this
enormous surplus-value while still presenting what appears to be a

bargain to the consumer.

The Hammock Industry, Ethnicity, and Class

Most of the larger hammock shops in Mérida and both of the
factories making hammock materials are owned by merchants of Lebanese
descent. Of nine shops for which the relevant data are known, seven
are Lebanese-owned. Their entry into the hammock trade is linked
with their dominance of the city's retail trade in general. The
reasons for this dominance have not been investigated in great
detail, but can be explained in part by the characteristics of the
original Lebanese immigrants and the nature of Yucatecan society as
they found it shortly after the turn of the century.

When the first Lebanese began to arrive in Yucatan, local
society was dominated by the large land owners: owners of henequen
plantations and descendants, frequently, of the colonial aristoc-
racy. This group, with its feudal trappings, constituted the grand
bourgeoisie of regional society. At the other extreme were the
masses of the population, the Mayan-speaking agricultural workers,
living in debt servitude and creating the wealth which had brought

to Mérida an unprecedented epoch of elegance and luxury.

149

During this period, numerous Koreans and Chinese were brought
to Yucatan as contract laborers to work in the fields. The Lebanese
came, however, not as contract laborers but as political exiles and
as individuals seeking economic opportunity. Lebanon at that time
was under the rule of the Turkish Empire, with an Islamic government
resented by the Maronite Christians. Many of the Lebanese who came
to Latin America were young men evading service in the Turkish
army. Latin America was a popular destination for these immigrants,
in part because of its population's adherence to the Church of Rome.

The Lebanese came without wealth, but the events of the revo-
lution and the Cardenas years helped to improve the living standards
of the rural populationemnldevelop a much larger domestic market
for manufactured goods of various kinds. The Lebanese took advan-
tage of these opportunities, and gradually came to dominate the
retail trade of the region. Many began as itinerant peddlers, then
owners of shops in small towns. The profits of these ventures were
accumulated and used to launch retail and industrial enterprises in
Merida.

The owners of Mérida's largest hammock shop and thread fac-
tory are the sons of 3 Lebanese immigrant who came to Yucatan in
1914 and began his business career as an itinerant peddler in Teabo,
selling cuts of cloth. Their major competitors are a family which
owns and operates three hammock stores; the patriarch of this family
came to Yucatan in 1920 and went to work as a clerk in his uncle's

store in Ticul.

150

Their success is perhaps attributable, at least in part, to
the fact that they came into a two-class system, and that the sub-
sequent economic opportunities in retail business opened up by the
revolution and its aftermath were too demanding for an emerging rural
proletariat of little means and less experience, and beneath the
dignity of the traditional bourgeoisie. The Lebanese (as well as a
few Chinese and Italians) moved into this gap and developed a niche
of their own in the evolving post-revolutionary society. Their
resultant success is both admired and resented by other Yucatecans.

While some Lebanese have made strategic marriages with
Yucatecans, they are largely endogamous, maintaining a sense of cul-
tural separateness and pride in Lebanese culture. There is a great
deal of emphasis on family ties and family unity; utilization of kin
ties is seen as an essential ingredient of business success, and in
many cases a conglomeration of legally autonomous partnerships and
corporations, each managed by a particular member of the family, are
run as a more-or-less unified enterprise. This is not to say that
all is harmony within the Lebanese community. Their concentration
in the same retail businesses often leads to intense and bitter
competition, even among relatives. For example, the two largest
hammock dealers in 1972 were not on speaking terms, even though they
are brothers-in-law.

Nevertheless, c00peration and financial assistance within
the group have been equally important and have contributed to the
development of new enterprises, including the ones involved in the

hammock trade.

151

In terms of ethnic origins, the middlemen in Tixkokob are
mostly of Hispanic cultural background (locally referred to as gente
de vestido), particularly those who deal in large volumes. Of the
three biggest dealers, two have Spanish surnames and the third is
Lebanese. They live in large and well-appointed houses and some
of their children have been educated for the professions.

In Teabo and Chumayel, on the other hand, dealers are more
likely to be mestizo. Many were milperos until recent years and
some still have small milpas, or milpas which are worked by hired
labor. Most live in thatched houses of the traditional Maya style
and speak Spanish as a second language. Their wives and daughters
typically dress in the traditional huipil.

The former occupations of these middlemen have been referred
to previously. Although sometimes having their origins in the
peasant or proletarian strata, they have come to constitute a part
of the rural petty bourgeoisie. This is recognized in local ter-
minology: middlemen in Tixkokob are referred to by weavers in

Cacalchén as capitalistas.

 

The differences between Tixkokob and Teabo in this respect
reflect the differences in the historical experiences of the maize
and henequen zones. Class differentiation within the rural commu-
nity has proceeded further in the former zone, to the point where
the distinction between rural proletariat and petty bourgeoisie is
one which has existed for many years. Although some mobility occurs,
class lines appear to be relatively rigid and largely congruent with

ethnic distinctions. In the maize zone, however, class differentiation

152

in peasant communities is an ongoing process, facilitated by the
expansion of the highway network in recent years and increased par-
ticipation in commerce. In smaller communities of the zone, the
emerging petty bourgeoisie are often persons of mestizo identity with
roots in the peasant sector.

The agents operating in Cacalchén are in nearly all cases
mestizas or mestizos, althoughaifew are catrinas and one is de
vestido.5 They are typically bilingual, with Maya as their first
language, and live in Mayan-style thatched houses. Most are also
weavers, or once were. The few men involved are all ejidatarios
or former ejidatarios.

On the whole, weavers are also mestizas or mestizos. They
have been recruited from the existing rural proletariat in the
henequen zone, and from the ranks of the peasantry in the maize
zone. The characteristics of this group will be examined in greater
detail in Chapter 5.

The pattern of ethnic and class organization in the hammock
industry reflects the system of stratification prevailing throughout
Yucatan, a system which largely restricts people identifiable as
mestizo to the lower levels. The weavers and agents are drawn from
this group. The middlemen, both mestizo and Hispanic, are part of
the petty bourgeoisie of the small towns. The larger dealers in
Mérida form a part of the affluent urban bourgeoisie.

The one group which is notably missing from these observa-
tions is the traditional grand bourgeoisie of Yucatan. Although suf-

fering temporary reverses during the revolutionaryanulpost-revolutionary

153

periods, they have been able, to a remarkable extent, to maintain
themselves in positions of influence. They continue to control

much of the henequen industry and dominate the tourist industry as
well (Lee, 1974). They also constitute to some extent a comgrador
class, representing the interests of multi-national corporations
operating in Yucatan. Most controlling positions in government
bureaucracies are in the hands of this group, although the power of
the regional elite is increasingly challenged by centralized national
control. None of the merchants involved in the hammock industry is
a member of this traditional elite.

In a larger sense, the system of hammock production repre-
sents a pattern of international stratification. The Yucatecan
communities which specialize in hammocks provide reserves of cheap
labor to satisfy the status pretensions of the relatively affluent
masses in the developed world and their desires for handcrafted
items of conspicuous consumption. This makes good business for the
entrepreneurs in Yucatan who engage hi the hammock trade, but it is
even better business for the importers in the developed countries.
In this sense, the terms of trade conform to an already established

international pattern of exploitation.

154

Footnotes--Chapter 4

IIn Tixkokob, producers of henequen hammocks work on their
own account and sell to the highest bidder. Buyers come from Marida
at 4:00 or 5:00 every afternoon and buy from sellers who gather
under the arches of the town hall. The cost of materials for an
ordinary henequen hammock is about three pesos; such a hammock can
be made in one day and sells for 14-15 pesos.

The henequen cord generally in use for this purpose today
is produced on large hand-cranked wheels. It is rather coarse and
results in a hammock which is loosely woven. Cord which is pro-
duced by twisting it against the thigh (corchado a mano) can be
made so that it is considerably finer and more durable. This cord
results in a more densely woven hammock which may last for many
years.

 

The type of henequen fiber used will also affect the thick-
ness and softness of the cord. Henequen fiber from young leaves
in the center of the plant is finer and softer than that from the
long outer leaves. There is also a species of agave locally
referred to as sisalana (yax-ki in Maya) which is not usually grown
commercially; it produces a fiber which is much softer than the
commercial variety of henequen. This material is known as lengua de
vaca and hammocks made from it are famous for their high quality.
The yield of fiber from sisalana is rather low, and the difficul-
ties of securing adequate fiber are such that lengua de vaca ham-
mocks are produced in limited quantities and are quite expensive.

2All of the terms used here for designs are those in common
usage in Cacalchén. The same designs may have different names in
other communities, or names may vary even among the weavers in the
same community.

 

3Calkini, in the state of Campeche, is an equally important
center, but the description here is restricted to the two areas in
Yucatan which were the focus of research, and their respective
hinterlands.

“This analysis raises the question of why the middlemen in
Teabo do not sell through venteros. As far as I know, none of them
was using this system in 1972. Since I didn't ask them this ques-
tion, my answer must be speculative. They have entered the business
more recently, and it is possible that they have not yet devised a
satisfactory way of circumventing the Mérida merchant. Second,
their capital reserves may not be great enough to allow waiting
longer to realize their gains when they can usually sell back to the
city merchants at any time. Third, they are working in a rural zone
which is less proletarianized than that of Tixkokob, and consequently

155

it may be more difficult to hire venteros who are known and trusted.

Fourth, the ethnic differences between the two groups of middlemen,
described later in this chapter, may play a part.

5The distinction between catrin and de vestido is socially
important in Cacalchén and other henequen zone communities. A
catrina has changed from the huipil to European-style clothing in
the present generation; gente de vestido are Hispanic by descent,
or have identified with Hispanic culture for several generations.
These distinctions are dealt with more extensively in Chapter 5.

CHAPTER 5

CACALCHEN: A VILLAGE OF WEAVERS

Cacalchén lies 42 kilometers east of Mérida in the heart of
the henequen zone. It is the cabecera of the municipio of the same
name, and according to the census of 1970 has a population of 4,256.
As part of a region closely tied to the international economy,
Cacalchén has frequent and intimate interaction with the outside
world. For many years the town has been linked to the capital by
rail, with two trains daily between Mérida and the oriente. The
east- and west-bound trains cross in Cacalchén at about 7:00 A.M.
and 4:00 P.M., occasions for local women to sell fruit, panuchos,
and other snacks to the passengers. Since 1971 the community has
also been connected to Mérida by a smooth all-weather road, and five
buses daily make the trip to the city.

The aspect which Cacalchén presents to the traveler is not
remarkable; it is a typical henequen-zone town, its large rectangu-
lar plaza graced by a few trees and park benches. Around the plaza
are the white-washed church, the palaclo municipal (town hall), a
small market place, and a number of shaps. The streets are laid out
in the grid pattern typical of Latin American towns, ending some
four or five blocks from the plaza. As one moves away from the

center, the proportion of casas de mamposteria (Spanish-style houses

156

157

of rubble masonry) diminishes and that of casas de paja (oval-shaped

 

pole-and-thatch dwellings in the Maya style) increases. The streets
likewise change from smooth, wide paths suitable for four-wheeled
vehicles to footpaths partially obstructed by vegetation and out-

croppings of rock.

The Setting

 

Village History

 

It is not clear whether a large settlement existed at the
present site in pre-Columbian times. According to the relacién of
1581 (Colleccién: 1898), it was the site of a reduccién carried out
during the early colonial period, when the population of the sur-
rounding area was concentrated there in order to facilitate their
indoctrination by the Franciscan friars. At that time, the local
Indians were subject to the monastery in Motul, 12 kilometers to the
north. Later, a church (still is use) and a small monastery (now
in ruins) were constructed in Cacalchén itself. These are located
on a large, rectangular platform raised a few feet above the plaza,
probably used as a Mayan temple platform in ancient times.

Slightly south of the town are the ruins of a §g£b§_(ancient
Maya road) apparently linking Izamal, 20 kilometers to the east, and
the ruins of Aké, eight kilometers to the west. The remains of pyra-
mids and temples at the latter site indicate that it was an impor-
tant ceremonial center in post-Classic times, as was Izamal. At the
time of the conquest, however, the people of Cacalchén owed allegiance

to the Pech family, rulers of Motul (Roys, 1965).

158

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159

The history of Cacalchén in post-Conquest times is not well-
documented; apparently it was never an important center of commerce
or administration. The residents of the community have a sense of
history stretching back only to the times within living memory or,
at most, to events of the past recounted by the parents of those now
living. Ideas about the Caste War of the 18405, the Colonial
period, and the ancient Maya are very sketchy indeed. Even events
of the past 40 years cannot be placed by most people with much
accuracy. Nevertheless, there is one period of the past which is
discussed with considerable frequency in Cacalchén, and that is the
época de esclavitud, the days of debt peonage before 1915. Then
the parents and grandparents of many Cacalchenos were peones

acasillados (resident peons) on the nearby haciendas, and most adults

 

can recite the abuses of that time. The account which follows is a
composite of informants' recollections.
Peons were not paid in money; instead they were given rations

of food, clothing, and aguardiente (sugar-cane liquor). The aguar-

 

diente, according to informants, was intended to kill pain and make
the peons work harder. These rations were charged against the
worker's account at the plantation store and his wages were applied
to the account. By law, peons could not leave their patrones without
paying off these ”debts.”

Peons were locked in at night and not allowed to leave the
haciendas except for a few hours on Saturdays or Sundays. They were
required to work not only the t§£§§_(task), for which they were paid,

but the fagina (”public service”) for which they were not. They

I?" «gr-fl

160

were beaten for not fulfilling their quotas, so that their wives
and children often had to help them finish their tareas.

It was during this epoch also that many chinos (actually
Koreans) came to work in the fields. Groups of them came on the

train and were taken to the haciendas on the plataforma (mule cart

 

pulled on narrow-gauge rails). Many came without really knowing
where they were going; they were sent as contract laborers. Today
most of these have become assimilated to the local population.

Peons were virtually owned by the hacendado; they were bought
and sold. Children, if orphaned, became the ”property” of the
hacendado. Corporal punishment was regularly administered for
being away from the premises without leave, being late when the bell
was rung to call people to work in the morning, and failing to greet
the hacendado or administrator properly. Sometimes, beatings were
fatal.

Daughters of the peons were frequently exploited sexually
by the hacendado and his sons. When a girl became pregnant the owner
would order one of the young peons to marry her. In fact, mar-
riages were often arranged by the hacendado without consulting the
wishes of the people involved, and peons were not allowed to marry
without permission.

Women with small babies were required to wet-nurse the chil-
dren of the overseers. Women as well as men were whipped for various
infractions. One nearby hacienda had a special whipping post for
pregnant women, arranged to protect the abdomen so that the lashes

fell only across the woman's back. Children were not allowed to

161

attend school or learn to read, and were punished for attempting to
do so.

These dismal remembrances are common knowledge in the com-
munity, and are confirmed by the incidents recounted in John Kenneth

Turner's Barbarous Mexico, published in 1910. There are, neverthe-

 

less, persons who regard those times as the good old days. Some of

those whose forebears were peones eventuales (occasional day labor-

 

ers resident in the peublo) rather than peones acasillados point

out that, by contrast with today, no one ever lacked employment.

The hacendados gave their workers new clothes every New Year and
helped them out in other ways in times of need. According to one
informant, even the esclavos (slaves) ate better in those days than
the ejidatarios do now. On the whole, however, most people do not
share this romanticized view of the past. The supposed generosity
of the hacendados is belied by the common recollection that people
had very little clothing. Women frequently had little or nothing
with which to cover themselves while they washed their only garments.
The men often went to work in the fields shirtless and barefoot,

with nothing but a bit of cloth around the loins. The food was poor,
and such luxuries as chocolate were unknown to most. One man argued
that the apparent generosity of the hacendados was designed to
deceive the workers; whatever they were ”given” was really earned
through the unpaid labor of the fagina.

In any case, all of this changed with la libertad, the

 

abolition of debt servitude granted by General Salvador Alvarado in

1915. With la libertad came the end of corporal punishment and the

T
13‘ ‘H

162

freedom to leave one's employer. Improvements in working conditions
and wages followed. But the coming of la libertad did not completely
change the lives of the workers. The hacendados still owned and
operated the plantations, and for most people there was no other
employment available. This began to change as land redistribution
was initiated under the administration of Gov. Felipe Carillo Puerto
in the early 19205.

Cacalchén first applied for ejido lands in 1921, and was
granted 6,142 hectares under a Presidential resolution of November 29,
1923. This grant consisted of 1,507 hectares belonging to the pre-

revolutionary antiguo ejido, the community's traditional common

 

lands, and 4,635 hectares of uncultivated lands expropriated from
nearby haciencas (0AAC, Archivos).

There is some confusion in the records about the actual
quantity of land included in this original grant. The lands involved
were not surveyed until 1936, at which time numerous small dis-
crepancies were apparently found between the estimated and actual
size of private holdings. Also, it appears that some of the lands
included in the original grant were later recovered by the private
estates, since the amounts of land listed as already expropriated
in the 1936 survey are considerably smaller, by about 632 hectares,
than those listed in the original grant. Exact comparisons are
made more difficult because the names of the estates often changed
with their owners, while some were split up and others consolidated
in the period between 1923 and 1936. In addition, there were at least

two haciendas named Cholul and three names San Antonio.

163

In any case, additional lands were applied for in 1935 to
provide for still landless residents of the peublo as well as for
159 peones acasillados of nearby haciendas. An agrarian census of
1936 determined that there were 2,147 inhabitants, of whom 407 had
lands received under the original grant and another 352 were eligible
to receive lands. A grant of an additional 1,274 hectares was con-
firmed by a resolution of President Cardenas on September 11, 1937.
In 1938, another 179 hectares were purchased by the local ejido
credit society from a private owner. Both ejido grants, of 1923 and
1937, stipulate that the land is to be worked collectively.

The original land reform measures of the 19205 allowed the
private estates to retain 200 hectares. In 1937 this limit was
increased to 300 hectares (150 in henequen and 150 uncultivated).
For purposes of expropriation the estates owned by members of the
same family were usually treated as one unit, so that some of the
estates in the Cacalchén area were expropriated completely, with the
exception of the hacendado's residence and the decorticating plant
in which the henequen fiber is separated from the leaves. The
retention of the decorticating plants by the hacendados allowed them
to retain considerable control over the henequen industry, since the

ejidos had to pay them fortfimaprocessing of their henequen.

The Contemporary Economy

Cacalchén's economy is still heavily dependent on henequen
production. By 1972 the number of ejidatarios had grown to over
1,000 and the organization of the ejido was fairly complex. The

ejido is operated as a collective under the guidance of the Agrarian

164

Bank of Yucatan, which advances operating funds and oversees the
operations of most of the henequen-growing ejidos in Yucatan. Weekly
budgets and task assignments are drawn up by the local ejido offi-
cials, but must be approved by the bank inSpector.

All ejido members have rights to ejido land, but the inter-
nal structure of the ejido divides the members into a number of
groups. Most of the members work under the Sociedad Local Colec-
tivo de Crédito Ejidal, which receives operating funds from the
Agrarian Bank. This credit society has some 2,500 hectares planted

in henequen and is divided into five work groups (grupos economicos)

 

assigned to the fields formerly belonging to each of five nearby
haciendas. Each group has its own foremen who organize and oversee
the work, and each group is allocated a weekly budget to pay wages
to its members for the various tasks completed. The fiber pro-
duced is turned over to the Bank for marketing, and the proceeds
credited to the society's account. Monies in excess of the society's
debts are to be paid in annual dividends, but in recent years,
because of low prices on the world market, there have not been any
dividends.

In addition to the Credit Society, there are four solidarity

groups (grupos solidarios) made up of 50 to 70 members each. These

 

groups deal directly with the Agrarian Bank rather than being sub-
ject to the local Credit Society. They have separate allocations of
land and separate budgets. These groups were organized during the
19605 as a part of a Bank policy aimed at eventual dismantling of

the large collective credit societies and gradual change toward

165

individual parcels. Consequently, the grupos solidarios have been
encouraged by the Bank with credit for expansion of plantings, and
the incomes of their members are somewhat better than those of the
grupos econ6micos. The wage rates for tasks performed are the same
in both types of groups and are established by the Bank. Workers
are paid by the piece rather than the day, and although these pay-
ments legally consist of advances against the sale of the crop, the
people think of them as wages.

Although not all the community's land holdings are planted
in henequen, expansion is currently not possible. The Bank attempts
to limit production in order to sustain the price of fiber on the
world market. The result of this strategy is widespread under-
employment in the henequen ejidos. Because of the large number of
ejidatarios and the limited lands in production (roughly 2.5 hectares
per ejidatario), most ejidatarios worked only two or three days a
week in the ejido fields during the period of study.

Within each group, tasks are assigned on the basis of need,
those who are single or have small families receiving smaller work
assignments than those with large families. Weekly wages for each
ejidatario vary from a low of 15 pesos to a high of about 100 (exclud-
ing some of the officials), but the mean is certainly toward the low
end of this range. Officials of the credit society and of the grupos
solidarios receive extra pay for their services. The division of
the ejido into various grupos econ6micos and grupos solidarios also
results in differences in average weekly wages among the groups,

since some groups have more lands under cultivation than others.

166

But even those individuals lucky enough to be assigned a full week's
work have limited earnings. For example, in 1972 workers were paid
7.80 pesos for each l,OOO leaves cut and 5.20 pesos per mecate (an
area 20 by 20 meters) for chopping weeds. It usually takes one day's
work to cut 2,000 leaves or weed two mecates (perhaps longer in the
rainy season). As a result, six days of cutting leaves brings in
93.60 pesos while six days of weeding brings only 62.40 pesos. These
incomes are not adequate for families whose weekly expenditures for
food alone range from about 60 to 100 pesos.

Consequently, most ejidatarios look for some other source of
income, the most common (aside from weaving) being work in the hacien-
das, either in the fields or in the decorticating plants. The wage
rates paid on these privately owned estates are usually lower than
those paid by the ejido. But, by making use of the assistance of
their adolescent sons, some of the men are able to combine enough
work in the ejido and in the haciendas to make ends meet. There are
six haciendas remaining in the vicinity, all of which have lost some
of their lands to the ejidos of Cacalchén and other towns. A number
of other estates close to Cacalchén have ceased to exist as separate
entities, their operations having been consolidated with those
remaining.

Most of the haciendas no longer have sizeable resident popu-
lations. Over the past three decades there has been a dramatic
shift in the settlement pattern of the municipio, with most of the
former residents of the haciendas moving into the pueblo. This

shift of residence first began with the end of debt peonage. Then

167

for the first time, resident peons were free to leave their employers.
Over the years, however, a number of incentives have operated to
attract people to the center. The advent of corn mills, free schools,
a clinic, and cheap federal electircity have made life in town appear
increasingly attractive. Today, the men still work in the fields

of the haciendas, but they commute to their jobs by bicycle, bus,

or rail-cart. The only nearby hacienda with more than a handful

of families is one which has a school, store, and corn mill, and is
located on a paved road with bus service to Tixkokob.

All six of the estates are owned by absentee landlords and
managed by professional administrators. Three of the owners are
very definitely members of Mérida's wealthy elite; they have a
variety of other business interests and do not live primarily from
the proceeds of their haciendas or decorticating plants. One of them
uses the hacienda primarily as a weekend retreat. Two others are
owned by groups of relatives who acquired them through inheritance;
these owners do not appear to be particularly affluent.

Five of the haciendas have decorticating plants which are
still operating, and each of these employs some men from Cacalchén.
In addition, the henequen leaves of the Cacalchén ejido are sent to
four of them for separating the fiber, and the owners are paid by
the ejido for this service. The plants are very old, built in the
period from 1900 to 1915, and have not been extensively modernized.
In most cases the original equipment is still in use, except for the

replacement of steam engines by deisel.

168

Although the haciendas today are mere shadows of their for-
mer grandeur, the continuing importance of social and economic links
between the haciendas and the pueblo H5 symbolically expressed in
the celebrations of the saints. Fiestas are still held for the
patron saints of some of the haciendas, people from the pueblo
visiting for this purpose. One of the saints has been rescued
from an abandoned and decaying hacienda and is now kept in the
pueblo church, honored by the former residents of the hacienda.
Every year at Easter the image of Santo Cristo from the hacienda
Las Ruinas de Aké is brought on foot by an escort of pilgrims from
Cacalchén; he is honored with the largest and most impressive pro-
cession of the year and remains in the pueblo for several weeks.

Because of the shortage of arable land, subsistence agri-
culture plays a very minor role in the village economy. A few
ejidatarios have small privately owned plots of land on which they
raise a part of their annual consumption of maize and beans, and
a few others are able to secure ejido lands for this purpose.
Fields are cultivated for only two seasons and left to fallow for
6 to 10 years before being used again. According to local infor-
mants, yields are poor in the second year, and the usual fallowing
period is really too short for optimal regeneration. Most ejida-
tarios have no land for milpa, although they are allowed to plant
corn between the rows of young henequen plants when a new henequen
field is planted. A few individuals have planted milpas in the

territory of Quintana Roo, but most cannot afford to take the necessary

 

 

lull in. {ill ill \llllllllllllul .I ll

169

time off from work in the henequen fields. In addition, transport-
ing the grain back is a major expense.

A few turkeys or chickens are kept by most households, and
some also raise one or two pigs. Fruits and vegetables are some-
times grown in the house lot, although most villagers feel that this
is not worthwhile unless one has a windmill or electric pump to
assist with the large amount of irrigation necessary for good
results.

The primary means of saving and investment for those with a
little bit of surplus income is the purchase of cattle. It is dif-
ficult to estimate what proportion of the ejidatarios own cattle,
but they would appear to be a distinct minority. Cattle generally
roam free in the unused ejido lands and frequently break into the
henequen fields to eat the young leaves. In 1972 heavy fines were
instituted to discourage this (100 pesos per violation), and owners
unable to fence in their cattle on private land were considering
selling their animals.

0f the non-agricultural alternatives available for supple-
menting income, weaving hammocks is the most common, and will be
discussed in greater detail later in this chapter. Although other
opportunities for local employment are limited, a few individuals
round out their ejido wages with a variety of part-time work, ranging
from skilled trades such as mason or baker to delivering newspapers
and selling firewood. Women earn small amounts by taking in washing
and ironing, embroidering huipiles, or selling snacks; young women

are sometimes employed as clerks by local shops. The most common

170

alternative for girls is to seek work as domestic servants in
MErida.

There are a number of full-time merchants or professionals
in Cacalchén. Fifteen shops carry staple foods, canned goods, and
a variety of general merchandise. In addition, there are four corn
mills, six bakeries (most of them combined with a store or corn
mill), six cantinas and two pool halls, one restaurant, and one
dry goods shop. The full-time professionals are limited to two
resident school teachers (the others commute from Merida), a doctor,
a nurse, the priest, and two hacienda administrators. A few people
work full-time at skilled trades such as tailoring or carpentry; more
frequently such occupations provide only part-time employment.

Cacalchén has experienced considerable out-migration in
recent years, as well as a relatively high rate of population
increase (23 percent from 1960 to 1970). Those young people who have
received some secondary education or specialized vocational training
are especially likely to leave. Some local people have found work
in Merida, and there are a number of Cacalchenos in Mexico City,
many of whom live in the same neighborhood and work for the same firm.
A few people from Cacalchén live and work in Los Angeles.

The rhythm of community life is set largely by the routine
of work in the ejido and on the haciendas. Wages are paid in both
of these on Saturdays, and the vast majority of all village commerce
takes place on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. This is the
time when people stock up on staple foods, pay their bills, and

perhaps splurge on sweet rolls, a little liquor, soft drinks, or

171

cochinitopibil (succulent young pig roasted in an earth oven).

 

Several head of cattle are slaughtered every Saturday, and a few
itinerant peddlers show up to sell fruits and vegetables or cuts
of cloth. Movies and dances are held on Saturday and Sunday nights,
and the cantinas do a healthy business until Monday. Throughout
the rest of the week people make most of their daily purchases on
credit. It is not uncommon for families to run up debts of several
hundred pesos, only part of which is paid off every Saturday.
Because of its dependence on a monocrop economy, the for-
tunes of the community rise and fall with the price of henequen on
the world market. During 1971-72, the ethnographic present of this
study, the henequen cycle was at a low point, and had been for
several years, due to competition from other nations and from syn-
thetic fibers. Ejidatarios and merchants alike complained inces-
santly about the general poverty and the inability of either group
to prosper in the absence of adequate employment. Ejidatarios talked
in nostalgic terms of the days when they had a full week's work,
when dividends were paid at the end of the year, and when the prices
of food were lower. Merchants recalled the times when sales boomed
and people collaborated enthusiastically on public projects such as
improving the town hall and the park. There were frequent criti-
cisms of Bank mismanagement and government inaction, and each new
program aimed at improving the lot of the rural population was

greeted with a skeptical, wait-and-see attitude.

172

Class and Ethnic Relations

Social class differentiation in Cacalchén reflects that of
the henequen zone as a whole and has its roots in the historical
process which created the plantation system. The events of the
twentieth century have brought about the disappearance of serfdom
and the feudal features which were once a part of the relations of
production under this system, but they have not created an inde-
pendent peasantry. Rather, the agricultural population involved in
henequen production today constitutes a rural proletariat, related
to the process of production through the administrative structure
of the Agrarian Bank. In theory the ejidatarios are the collective
owners of the land. In practice they do not have effective control
of the means of production and think of themselves as wage laborers.

Unlike the rural proletariat of many other plantation
regions of the New World, that of Yucatan retains a cultural iden-
tity distinct from that of the nation as a whole. As a result,
class relations in Yucatecan society are often expressed in ethnic
terms.

The Indian-mestizo or lndian-ladino distinction of other
regions of Mesoamerica is not applicable to Yucatan. In Yucatan,
the Indian and mestizo categories of colonial times have collapsed
into one, and the bearers of the (presumed) indigenous culture
refer to themselves and are referred to by others as mestizos.
Mestizos speak Maya as a first language, wear a distinctive costume,

and often bear Maya surnames. The term indio is sometimes used for

173

the same group, usually in a pejorative sense. Such expressions as

105 maya or la gente maya are also heard.

 

People who speak Spanish, dress in European style, have
Spanish surnames, and identify with the Mexican variant of Hispanic
culture are called gente de vestido (dzulob in Maya). However, not
everyone who meets these criteria is accepted as gente de vestido.
Those who have made the transition recently are called, instead,
catrin. It is a mark of their superior status that the term gente
de vestido is less frequently used in everyday conversation than
mestizo and catrin; the culture of the dominant group is assumed as
the standard and norm against which the “other,” the mestizo and
catrin, are measured. The use of the term catrin or catrina is a
way of emphasizing that in spite of surface appearances, the person
being described still has important connections with the lower status
group: his or her parents are mestizo.

In Cacalchén, people who are mestizo or catrin far outnumber
those who are de vestido. Among women, status placement is clearly
a matter of dress and family connections, and the three-fold classi-
fication is applied frequently to them. A mestiza is a woman or
girl who wears the huipil (hipil in Maya), and her long hair is
neatly pulled back in a bun. If she becomes a catrina, she puts on a
dress and cuts her hair; the hairdo must conform to the mode of
dress. Although there may be some ambiguity about whether a woman is
catrina or de vestido, there is no confusion about whether she is

mestiza.

174

Mestizo families are not necessarily consistent in dressing
their daughters; one girl may be raised as a mestiza and another as
a catrina. In early childhood a girl may have both kinds of cloth-
ing and wear them alternately. It is not entirely clear what fac-
tors determine the eventual choice. In any case, the change from
mestiza to catrina is usually irreversible. Beyond adolescence
women rarely revert from catrina to mestiza, and catrina mothers do
not dress their daughters as mestizas.

Among older women, there is an air of easy interaction
among mestizas, catrinas, and de vestido. At public gatherings or
on other occasions they will sit together, talk together, and some-
times dance together. Young unmarried women of the de vestido
group, however, tend to associate exclusively with their own kind.
Their parties, excursions, and dance groups do not include catrinas
and mestizas. There is much more interaction between young catrinas
and mestizas, since they are often sisters or cousins.

The classification of men is more ambiguous, at least to
the outside observer. The traditional mestizo costume consists of
straw hat, white shirt, white knee-length pants, sandals, and a
wrap-around apron (delantal). Today only men in their fifties or older
wear the delantal. Ankle-length white pants or blue denim trousers
have replaced the shorter white pants. Younger men often wear tee
shirts or ready-made shirts in various colors. All of these modi-
fications, however, may be accompanied by sandals made in the tra-
ditional mestizo style (called alpargatas), and it is this item of

footwear which appears to be the distinctive mark of mestizo status

175

today. On the other hand, men who ordinarily wear alpargetas
sometimes wear shoes, and may be thought of as catrin. The hot
climate discourages the regular wearing of shoes, and even de
vestido men wear sandals most of the time. Their sandals, however,
are often factory-made and usually differ in style from the alpar-
gatas.

Although dress is to some extent a mark of ethnic status,
men are seldom referred to in Cacalchén as mestizo, catrin, or
de vestido. Instead, terms reflecting occupational or class status
are much more common: ejidatarios or campesinos (peasants) for

those who work in the fields; commerciantes (merchants) or other

 

appropriate designation for those who do not. Collectively, the

latter and their families are known as 105 del centro, those who

 

live in the center of town.

Los del centro are the town's bourgeoisie. They include the
merchants, professionals, and administrators; the families with
high income and prestige within the community. Virtually all of
them have Spanish surnames and live in Spanish-style houses. They
tend to take a leadership role in community affairs, particularly
municipal government.

Those who are not members of this group are referred to as

la gente humilde (the humble people) by members of the bourgeoisie,

 

although campesinos is a more common auto-designation. People of
this group are usually ejidatarios, live in Maya-style houses, and
have Maya surnames. Although there are differences in wealth and

prestige within this group, most of them are poor in comparison

176

with los del centro. They tend to have less influence in public
affairs, with the important exception of the ejido organization.
As might be expected, los del centro are gente de vestido, while
campesinos are mostly mestizo and catrin. Ethnic status and class
status are largely congruent.

The distinction between 105 del centro and campesinos is
apparent in patterns of social interaction. The two groups are
largely endogamous, and their social gatherings are often restricted
to persons of like status. Los del centro celebrate baptisms,
birthdays, and weddings by inviting others of their own group to
private fiestas. Campesinos also have fiestas for the same occa-
sions, and the only members of the bourgeoisie present are usually
compadres. Los del centro are often asked to serve as godparents
by campesinos, but the relationship is asymmetrical. Los del centro
choose compadres among themselves or among the bourgeOisie in larger
towns.

There are several kinds of gatherings which bring both
groups together, particularly religious activities. Members of
both groups attend mass and participate in novenas (nine consecutive
nights of prayer sessions) and processions in honor of the saints.
But even in religious celebrations there is a tendency toward
separateness. Celebrations of primarily European identity, such
as Carnaval, are largely the matter of gente de vestido. Young
people of the leading families organize dance troupes and dominate

the proceedings, which take place over four days and nights.

I77

Mestizos and catrins also take part, but their role tends to be
peripheral.

In the traditional Maya ceremonies, on the other hand,
only mestizos take part. Rain ceremonies, conducted in Maya by an
h;mgfl_(shaman), are still celebrated annually by several groups of
milperos in Cacalchén, but the only gente de vestido who attend are
visiting anthropologists. Likewise, hetzmek ceremoniesl are not
observed for the children of gente de vestido, though a few of them
have served as godparents of hetzmek for mestizo children.

The two-class model so far described tends to minimize the
extent of differences in wealth and prestige among those identified
as gente humilde, campesinos, and mestizos. Some of these own a few
head of cattle and small parcels of land, while others do not.

There is also an ideal mestizo life style, many aspects of which can
only be achieved by the relatively affluent: the elegant ternos
(embroidered ceremonial huipiles) worn for weddings and other festive
occasions; the prestations, including gold chains, involved in mar-
riage arrangements; the sponsorship of celebrations for the saints.
These customs are respected by mestizo and non-mestizo alike, and
those able to sustain them achieve prestige within their own group
and the respect of 105 del centro. Nevertheless, membership in the
latter group is closed to those of mestizo identity. Upward mobility
into this group requires wealth, some education, a high-status occu-
pation, and full adoption of the dominant culture. It also requires
one or two generations--long enough for one's humble origins to be

forgotten.

178

Participation in Hammock Production

Although the nearby town of Tixkokob has long specialized
in commercial hammock production, this activity has become wide-
spread in Cacalchén only in recent years. Beginning about 1950,
one of the local women began to make hammocks for a dealer in
Merida. Initially she took in young girls as apprentices, and many
village residents eventually learned to weave, directly or indirectly,
from her. The apprentices worked without pay for several weeks
while they learned the necessary skills, after which they were
paid a piece rate. At times, she had as many as 10 or 12 appren-
tices working in her home. Eventually, other suppliers began to
distribute materials to weavers working in their own homes, those
who had already learned the skill teaching their relatives and
friends. Rates of pay have risen slowly during this period, but
the activity has spread nonetheless as incomes from henequen pro-
duction have declined and consumer prices have risen. Today,
Cacalchén possibly produces more hammocks than any other community
in Yucatan, surpassing even Tixkokob.

It is difficult to estimate exactly how many households in
Cacalchén are involved in the hammock industry at the present time.
Informants insist that everyone makes them, and indeed, most of the
few exceptions I encountered were among the town's elite. Even the
daughters of the relatively affluent often make hammocks in order
to acquire spending money for clothes.

My own judgment, based on various kinds of indirect evidence,

is that 70 to 80 percent of the households are actively involved in

179

weaving on a fairly continuous basis, and that another 15 to 20 per-
cent weave occasionally. For both groups, the level of production
is affected to some extent by seasonal fluctuations in supplies of
materials. 1

During my residence in Cacalchén I conducted a survey of
hammock-producing households aimed at clarifying the characteristics
of weavers and weaving households and the factors influencing
productivity. One hundred five households engaged in weaving were
surveyed between February and May of 1972, the time of year when
productivity is highest.

Because of the large size of the community a complete
census of households was impractical. Consequently, the households
interviewed were chosen through a process of neighborhood quota
sampling. A rough map of the community was made and the location
of each house site was plotted on the map. Since each site usually
consists of more than one structure (a separate kitchen and other
outbuildings in addition to the house), a group of structures was
considered to be a single house site if it: was. surrounded by a
stone wall or other enclosure having a single entrance to the street.
Where two houses were located on a single undivided lot, but each
had its own street entrance, they were counted as two house sites.

Since these determinations were made through visual obser-
vation rather than the questioning of informants, the number of
house sites does not necessarily coincide with the number of house-
holds, a household being defined as persons sharing a house site

and having meals in common. During the course of interviewing it

180

was discovered that three house sites contained more than one house-
hold. Nevertheless, it may be assumed that in most cases there is
a correspondence between house site and household.

After the mapping of house sites, the community was then
divided into four quarters along its north-south and east-west
axes, with the goal of interviewing at least 10 percent of the
households in each quarter. Only those households known to be
engaged in hammock production were interviewed, but an attempt was
made to scatter the interviews throughout each quarter. Occasionally
one interview would lead to another, with neighbors or relatives of
the interviewee. On other occasions, the persons interviewed were
approached without introduction. In a few cases, people I had met
through other channels invited me to include their households in
the survey. The proportion of households ultimately interviewed in

each of the four quarters is shown in Table 21.

Table 21.--Proportion of households interviewed, by quarter.

 

 

Number Number of Percent
Quarter of House Households Interviewed
Sites InterVIewed
Northwest 140 20 14.3
Northeast 256 30 11.7
Southwest 139 20 14.4
Southeast 255 35 13.7

 

Total 790 105 13.3

 

181

The representativeness of the survey population can be judged
in one additional way. Insofar as the community is stratified geo-
graphically, it is in terms of distance from the central plaza.

There is no simple gradation from relative elegance to relative
squalor, but the general tendency can be noted. Consequently, the
approximate distance (in city blocks) from the central plaza was
calculated for each household interviewed, with the results indi-

cated in Table 22.

Table 22.-~Proportion of households interviewed, by distance from plaza.

 

 

A . t D' t n Total Number Number of
pproxlma e .'S a ce of House Households Percent
From Plaza, In Blocks . .
Sites Intervuewed
O 25 2 8.0
1 129 II 8.5
2 138 20 14.5
3 170 21 12.4
4 151 30 19.9
5 104 14 13.5
6 52 6 11.5
7 21 l 4.8

 

These figures indicate that those households in the middle range
are somewhat overrepresented, while those closest to and farthest

from the central plaza are underrepresented.

182

General Characteristics of
Survey Households

 

 

The 105 households surveyed contained 781 persons, with a
mean size of 7.4 persons per household. This fairly large size
reflects the high frequenty of three-generation extended families,
41.9 percent of the total. Of 36 couples residing with the parents
of one of the spouses, 31 were living with the husband's parents
and only 5 with the wife's parents. In two of the latter cases,
the household head was a widower. These data are consistent with
the strong preference for patrilocality in the early years of mar-
riage reported elsewhere in Yucatan (Redfield, 1941:194-95; Thompson,
1970:46-50; Kirk, 1975:212-19; Raymond, 1971:213-14). The remaining
cases of three-generation households were accounted for by elderly
persons living in households headed by a son (10 cases) or by a
daughter's husband (7 cases). These were widowed people who had
moved into the already established households of their married
children, or given up their positions as heads of household to the
younger generation. There were no cases of married siblings contin-
uing to share a household after the death of both parents, but in
some cases a widow or widower with children not yet grown lived in
the household of a married brother or sister.

Nuclear families accounted for 52.4 percent of the households,
and married couples living alone for only 2.9 percent. Although
young couples often feel that it is desirable to establish their
own households as soon as possible, few are able to achieve this in

the early years of marriage. Only 10 of the households consisted

183

of nuclear families in which all of the children were less than
10 years of age.

The residents of the households surveyed constituted a
relatively young population: 48.1 percent were 19 or under, 24.5
percent 20 to 39, 13.3 percent 40 to 59, and 4.2 percent 60 and
over. The sex ratio was fairly well-balanced, with a slight excess
of females among those under 40 (328 females to 316 males) and an
excess of males among those 40 and over (74 males to 61 female).

Ninety-four of the households were headed by ejidatarios,
while 97 derived at least some income from the ejido. Twenty-one
of the households had two members working in the ejido, while 24
had three or more. Twenty-one households also derived some income
from work in the ex-haciendas, and this was the most common source
of supplementary income aside from weaving. Seventeen households
had a member employed in domestic service and 19 had milpas. The
tendency to rely on multiple sources of income is illustrated by
Table 23. Men, in particular, frequently have two or three occu-
pations.

Of the 781 persons, 303 (38.8 percent) reported hammock-
weaving as one of their occupations: 207 females and 96 males.
Many of these weavers were young: 55 percent were between 7 and 19
years of age, and 88.6 percent were under 40. This reflects the
heavy reliance on the labor of children and adolescents. Only 23
weavers were household heads, while 70 were the wives of household
heads, 101 were daughters, and 69 were sons. Although many women

listed weaving as their primary occupation, only adolescent males

184

 

 

 

 

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185

did so. For adult men, weaving is a secondary occupation. Forty-
eight of the weavers were enrolled in school, 42 were employed in

the ejido, and 36 gave some other occupation in addition to weaving.
Of the remaining 177, most are girls and women who perform domes-

tic chores in addition to weaving. Weaving, then, is largely a part-
time occupation.

Informants were often imprecise about estimating the number
of hammocks produced monthly, especially during the early days of the
survey when there was some suspicion about the purposes of the survey
and the uses to which the information would be put. Several indi-
viduals asked directly whether I was working for the government, and
one rumor which came back to me was that the state intended to use
the data to place a tax on looms. Later, some of these fears appear
to have been allayed, but their overall effect on the data was
likely some underestimation of levels of productivity. For this
reason, I emphasized questions about the hammocks being made at the
time of the interview, asking the size of each, the name of the sup-
plier, and the wages that would be paid for each one. Since most of
the houses are one-room structures, these data could be gathered by
asking about each of the looms Mfitfifiri sight, and then asking if
there were any other hammocks being made. This information was used
to calculate each household's earnings from weaving.

The results indicate that the average household has 2.9
persons employed in weaving and produces 5.5 hammocks monthly, with
only 11.4 percent producing more than 10. At the time of the inter-

view, the mean number of hammocks being made was 2.4, with an average

186

wage value per household of 48.09 pesos. This figure provides the
best estimate available of average monthly earnings from weaving:
approximately 110 pesos per household or 38 pesos per weaver. It
should be remembered, however, that these figures represent earnings
during the season of peak production, and must be somewhat lower
during other parts of the year.2

There are basically two strategies available for maximizing
income from weaving. The first involves working on the higher qual-
ity hammocks. The second involves seeking a source of supply of
materials which pays higher rates--and this means a source of supply
in Tixkokob or Mérida.

The data collected on 244 hammocks indicate that the wage
rates paid for hammocks made of cheaper materials are highly uniform
(5 pesos per madeja for 145 out of 215 hammocks, with a narrow range
from 4.50 to 6.00 pesos). The rates for the more expensive hammocks
of hilera varied more, from 10 to 35 pesos per box, depending on
the fineness of the thread and the weave. In the high end of this
range it is possible for the weaver to earn more per hour than can
be earned making the lower quality hammocks. There are, however,
several drawbacks. Not many hammocks of hilera are made (only 29
out of 244 included in the survey). Also, they take longer to
complete, and the weaver consequently has to wait longer to get
paid. The ordinary hammock of madejas can be made in a week or two,
while the hammock of hilera takes two or three weeks.

The second strategy appears to be more attractive for most

weavers. The mean rate per madeja paid by agents in Cacalchén was

187

5.02 pesos (157 cases), while the mean rate paid by dealers in
Tixkokob and Merida was 5.52 pesos (47 cases). Those who acquire
materials directly from dealers in Tixkokob and Mérida are also
likely to be working as agents themselves, and thus earn extra
money from the commissions paid for distributing materials to other
weavers.

Weavers had a mean of 5.7 years of experience, but one-
third had been weaving for two years or less, reflecting the youth
of the population of weavers and also the recency of the spread of
the skill in the community. The majority of weavers learned the
skill from a close relative. Given the preponderance of women among
the weavers, it is not surprising that most weavers (51.5 percent)
learned from a female relative, principally from their mothers and
sisters, while only 12.7 percent learned from a male relative.

These proportions were much the same for both male and female weavers.
only 13.6 percent learned from non-relatives and many of these

(19 out of 46) learned from the woman who introduced weaving to the
community in the first place. Significantly, 11.2 percent claim
that no one taught them; they merely picked it up by watching others.
Clearly, no lengthy apprenticeship is required for learning the

basic skills, although those without systematic training are less
likely to know the more complicated designs.

The extensive use of child labor in weaving appears to have
a slight negative effect on levels of educational achievement.

Taking children of school age (ages 7 to 14) year by year, the edu-

cational levels of those employed in weaving are higher than those

188

not so employed during the younger years (ages 7 to 10), but decline
with age until by ages 13 and 14 they have fallen slightly behind
(see Table 24). A large number of the children between 7 and 14,
whether employed in weaving or not, have completed less than one
year of school (29.4 percent), and 50.8 percent were not attending
school at the time of the interview. Since there are two primary
schools in the community, both offering six years of education,

the large proportion of children not attending school appears to

reflect the importance of their economic role.

Table 24.--Years of education of children 7 to 14 years of age.

 

 

 

 

Weavers Non-weavers
A93 Mean Years Mean Years
Number of Education Number of Education
7 to 8 IO .7 46 .6
9 to 10 21 1.6 23 1.2
11 to 12 35 2.3 16 2.4
13 to 14 35 2.8 11 3.0
Total 101 96

 

The differences shown in Table 24 may also reflect the different
educational experiences of boys and girls. Compared with girls,
there are larger proportions of boys with no schooling at all and
with more than three years of schooling. It appears that girls are
more likely to go to school at some time during these years, but

that they also drop out sooner. The result is an average level of

I89

educational attainment which is lower for girls than for boys (1.7
years compared with 1.9 years), and this may account for a part of
the observed differences between weavers and non-weavers in this

age group.

Variations in Productivity

 

It was expected that variations in the levels of hammock
production among households surveyed would be influenced both by
economic need and by household composition. I started with the
assumption that as income from other sources rose, participation in
weaving would decline, and vice versa. Unfortunately, it became
clear in the course of the survey that gathering accurate data on
income from large numbers of households was precluded by the reti-
cence of informants as well as the multiplicity and irregularity of
the sources of income. For example, an informant might readily tell
me that her husband's ejido salary was 21 pesos a week, but neglect
to mention that because of the size of the family, he was given a
double work assignment, worth 42 pesos. Informants' statements
about supplementary income from other sources were considerably
more vague, often emphasizing that such work was part-time or irregu-
lar. Evasiveness and imprecision about these matters was almost
certainly motivated in part by the common fear that government
authorities would conduct another agrarian census, and that those
found to be employed even temporarily in other activities would lose
their ejido rights. Frequently a man who has an Opportunity to

work several days for the ex-hacienda may ask his brothers or other

190

male relatives to cover his ejido work for him, returning the favor
at a later time. Correctly or not, ejidatarios believe that the Bank
would cut them off if this were known.

Given these problems, attempts were made to measure hammock
productivity in relationship to indirect indicators of economic
status. In particular, it was expected that there would be differ-
ences between ejido groups since some groups were known to be earning
more than others. Consequently, various measures of productivity
were compared for the households in the three grupos econémicos for
which I have a sufficient number of cases, referred to here as
Groups A, B, and C. Group A was reputed to have the lowest salaries
and Group C the highest of these three groups, and this impression
was confirmed by the scattered data on salaries that I was able to
collect. I expected that productivity of hammocks would be highest
in Group A and lowest in Group C. The results, presented in Table 25,
contradicted these expectations. Group A led in the number of ham-
mocks produced monthly, but Group C was highest on all other measures
of productivity.

A more detailed consideration of the various measures used
assists in evaluating these results. The number of hammocks produced
monthly was taken from informants' estimates, subject to the limita-
tions already mentioned, while the other measures of productivity
are dependent on direct observation. The former, then, is probably
less accurate than the latter. In addition, hammocks can vary in
size and hence the value of the wages earned for each one, so that

the measure based on wage value of the hammocks actually observed

191

Table 25.--Measures of hammock productivity for households in three
ejido work groups.

 

 

Group A Group B Group C
"cans (N=36) . (~=2o) (we)
Number of persons
in household 7.6 6.8 7.6
Number of weavers
in household 3.0 2.2 3.6
Number of hammocks
produced monthly 6.8 3.9 5.9

Number of hammocks
in production at 2.5 1.9 2.9
time of interview

Value of wages for
hammocks in pro- 50.24 34.38 61.17
duction, in pesos

Value of wages per
weaver, in pesos 16.75 15.62 16.99

 

in production is probably a more meaningful measure of productivity,
in terms of both earnings and labor time invested, than merely
counting the number of hammocks. Piece rates are highly uniform
throughout the community, so that the primary way to increase income
from weaving is to work harder.

One obvious reason for the higher productivity in Group C
is the higher number of weavers per household, and using the value
of wages per weaver we find that in fact the differences among the
three groups are not substantial. While it was hypothesized that

the higher income groups would earn less from weaving, it appears

192

that in fact there is very little difference in this measure. How
might this be explained?

One possible explanation lies in the patterns of supplemental
occupations for the three groups. Table 26 reveals that the households
of Groups A and B had a higher proportion of members employed in occu-
pations other than ejido work and weaving, and this could be expected

to diminish the amount of labor time available for weaving.

Table 26.--Occupational characteristics of households in three ejido
work groups.

 

 

Group A Group B Group C
(N=36) (N=20) (N=18)
Mean number of ejida-
tarios per household 1.7 2.0 2.0

Percent of households

with supplementary

occupations other 75°C 75-0 61.1
than weaving

Percent of households
with income from work 27.8 15.0 11.1
in the ex-haciendas

Percent of households
with a member employed 16.7 5.0 5.6
in domestic service

Percent of households
with milpas 25.0 30.0 11.1

 

In order to test this, the measures of productivity for
all 105 households were tested for correlation with the total number

of other paid occupations engaged in by household members, holding

193

constant the size of the household labor force (defined as persons
between 7 and 60 years of age). Although the resulting correla-
tions were not strong, all of them were negative, consistent with
expectation (see Table 27). When the measures of productivity are
correlated by type of occupation, it is clear that weaving and
domestic service are to some extent incompatible, the number employed
in domestic service showing the strongest negative correlations with
all measures of productivity. This reflects the fact that most
people employed as servants are young women working in Mérida who
come home only on weekends.

Measures of productivity were also negatively correlated
with employment in the ejido. Since men weave less than women and
children this is not surprising. However, the slight positive
correlations between productivity measures and other types of
supplementary employment suggest that weaving is an activity which
may be carried out in addition to these other part-time occupations
rather than being displaced by them.

From informants' statements, it is clear that weaving is
seen as poorly paid, but preferable on other grounds to work as
a servant. The latter pays more than weaving (150 to 200 pesos
monthly plus room and board), but parents often resist sending a
daughter to work in the city for fear that she will be seduced and
become pregnant. That Group A should have the highest prOportion
of households with a member employed in domestic service is perhaps

indicative of their greater need for supplementary income.

194

 

co_uu:ooca

omuo. mmNo. :mm~.u mmwo.u ommo.n c_ mxuoeemc
mo o:_m> mam:

co_uu:ooLa

 

Num_. mmom. mmmm.i omn..- o_N_.i :_ mxuOEEm;
mo consaz
zucoe Lon

omm_. mmaw. mmu_.i mam—.1 omoo.u moms meOEEm;
mo consaz

NNm_. Nmmo. mmm~.i m_m_.u Nmm_.u mco>mo3
mo consaz

m:o_uma:uuo mcoLOnmu mo_cmu mc_>moz >u.>_uu:ooLm
«.meou .mcau_:o mucm>cum cock cacao . .
umo_mw xuoeem:
cocuo u_cm< mo Lonszz 0 Lo E: mco_uma:uuo $0
$0 consaz mo Logan: m a z consaz _mu0h mo mocammoz

 

.Aucmumcou o_o; mono» LOnm_ o_o£om:o: mo o~_mv Lon_ o_o;om:o£ mo m:o_umuo__m
m>_umccou_m ;u_3 >u_>_uo:o0ca xUOEEmc mo mocammoe mo muco_u_mmmou co_um_occou _m_ucmmni.- o_nmh

195

Compared with Groups A and B, members of Group C are less
frequently employed as agricultural laborers in the ex-haciendas and
have fewer milpas. This may reflect the higher ejido salaries of
this group, but it may also result from the greater distance (seven
or eight kilometers) which Group C members must go to reach their
ejido lands compared to the other two groups (two or three kilometers).
Also, the ex-hacienda which is adjacent to their ejido lands has
been completely expropriated by the ejidos, and only the core with
the decorticating plant remains. Consequently, there are fewer
opportunities for members of Group C residing in the pueblo to
obtain this type of work. Finally, it should be mentioned that weav-
ing is regarded as soft work in comparison with the hard work involved
in agricultural labor and in planting milpa, and some men prefer it
on those grounds.

In sum, households in these three groups follow somewhat
distinct strategies for maximizing income. Households in Group A
have fewer members employed in the ejido than the other two and are
reputed to earn less. They compensate for this by combining various
kinds of supplementary activities: agricultural labor on the ex-
haciendas, domestic service, planting milpa, and weaving. Ejido
salaries for Group B are only slightly higher than for Group A,
but a larger proportion of members are employed in the ejido, and
household earnings from this source are likely to be higher. Excess
labor is concentrated in work on the ex-haciendas and making milpas,
and productivity in weaving is the lowest of the three groups. Mem-

bers of Group C are reputed to have the highest ejido salaries of

196

the three groups, and their participation in supplementary occupa-
tions other than weaving is lower than for the other two groups.
More of their labor is devoted to weaving, and they are the highest
of the three groups on most measures of hammock productivity.

These findings indicate that although the original hypoth-
esis can be rejected, certain differences do exist between these
groups which can be explained in part by their differential need
for supplemental income. Households in all three groups need supple-
mental income, but those in Group C can be more selective and have
less need to seek out the less desirable types of occupations.

The patterns observed also suggest that household composition,
in terms of sex and age, may have a significant effect on the alter-
natives chosen for increasing income. While weaving is engaged in
by both sexes, agricultural work of all kinds is restricted to men,
and domestic service is restricted almost entirely to women. Other
kinds of part-time work, whether in skilled trades or manual labor,
are available primarily to men. One might hypothesize that pro-
ductivity in weaving, then, should be correlated with the number of
women and girls in the household, and perhaps to a lesser extent
with the number of juvenile males. On the other hand, the presence
of infants and small children would be likely to diminish the amount
of time devoted to weaving, other things being equal, since they
demand care from their mothers or older siblings. In order to test
these relationships household members were classified into several

age and sex categories: children under 7 years of age; juvenile

 

197

females, ages 7 to 14; juvenile males, ages 7 to 14; adult females,
ages 15 to 59; adult males, ages 15 to 59; and elders, people over 60.
Seven was chosen as the lower limit for the juvenile group
because it is at about this age that children begin to assist with
household chores, running errands, caring for younger siblings, and ‘
participating in economic activities such as weaving. About half
of the children in the 7 to 14 age group are involved in weaving,
and the boys often assist their fathers in the fields. The activi-
ties of this group, particularly of the girls, would be expected to
increase productivity in weaving.
Those over 15 were included in the adult group because
virtually all young people are involved in gainful employment of some
kind by that age. Age 60 was chosen as the upper limit primarily
because most ejidatarios retire at that age and draw a pension of
15 pesos a week. Women over 60 may continue to assist to a certain
extent with domestic tasks, but they do not participate in weaving.
Hence the effects of this group on productivity in weaving should be
minimal.
Significantly, Group B (the group with the lowest value of
wages per weaver) had the highest ratios of small children to girls
and women (see Table 28), and of males to females. Group A had an
almost equally high ratio of small children to girls and women,
while having the lowest ratio of males to females. This group has a
higher proportion of women to girls, but more of their time is
apparently consumed in child care within the home and domestic ser-

vice outside it. Group C had the most evenly balanced ratio of males

198

to females while having the lowest ratio of small children to girls
and women. This sex and age structure is consistent with their

greater productivity in weaving.

Table 28.--Ratios of small children to juvenile and adult females and I
ratios of juvenile and adult males to juvenile and adult females in
three ejido work groups.

 

 

Number of Small Children Number of Juvenile and
Ejido Group per 100 Juvenile and Adult Males per 100
Adult Females Juvenile and Adult Females
A [3803 8303
B 50.0 114.0
C 36.1 95.9

 

This relationship between familial sex and age structure
and productivity can also be seen in the correlations between the
household composition variables and various productivity variables
shown in Table 29. As hypothesized, the numbers of juvenile females,
juvenile males, and adult females are positively correlated with the
number of weavers per household, the number of hammocks in produc-
tion, and (slightly) with the wage value of hammocks in production.
Wages per weaver, however, are slightly negatively correlated with
the number of juveniles, both males and female, and only slightly
pOsitively correlated with the number of adult females. This is
not surprising since presumably, as the number of weavers rises, the
proportion who are children and therefore do not produce as much

increases, thus lowering the average wage per weaver. The correlations

199

 

smo_. mmoo.- memo. __~o.- mamo.- mmo~.- _om_.- to>mm3
cog memo:

I co_uu:ooca
amm_. mem_. :__N. Nmm_. m:m_. mmmo.- :Nmm. c. mxuoEEm;

mo m:_m> 0mm:

:o_uu:o0ca

 

mmmo. mmmm. mmmm. Macm. moam. .mmo. Nmmm. c_ meOEEmc
mo consaz
memo. msON. mosN. N_a~. mamm. oso~. mto>moz
mo consaz

a...“ .fiw .3... ”am. fie.
mo unassz . . mo embasz >u_>_uo:ooLm

mo consaz mo consaz wo consaz mo LonEJZ mo LmnEDZ

 

.mo_nm_cm> co_u_moaeou o_o;om:o; £u_3 mo_nm_cm> >u_>_uu:o0ca mo muco_u_mmooo co_um_oLL0usu.mN o_nmk

200

between the number of weavers and productivity tend to confirm this
trend.

The number of adult males is also correlated with produc-
tivity in a manner similar to adult females, presumably because the
number of adult males is related to both the number of adult women
and of children. The elders, as expected, are relatively unim-
portant for productivity.

The number of small children in a household is positively
correlated with the number of weavers, since weaving is primarily
female work. While the number of small children does not seem to
influence the number of hammocks in production, it does lower sub-
stantially the expected wages per weaver for these hammocks, pre-
sumably because the time necessary for looking after the needs of
small children is subtracted from the total time available for weaving.

None of the correlations is strikingly high.‘ It appears,
then, that household composition is only one of many factors involved
in explaining variations in levels of hammock production. Some
weavers work more rapidly than others, and this is a variable not
tapped by the survey. It is also worth pointing out again that
weavers are dependent on dealers and agents for their materials, and
some households are better placed than others to insure a continuous
supply through utilization of friendship and kinship ties. Other
idiosyncratic factors also play a role. Some men are notorious for
drinking up a large part of the family income, so that their fami-

lies work harder at weaving than others of similar income.

201

Although most households attempt to utilize members' labor
to supplement income from the ejido, the strategies they choose for
doing this depend on degree of economic necessity, available oppor-
tunities, and personal skills and preferences. Weaving is one of
the most widely available opportunities and the skill is easily
learned. It does not require continuous undivided attention, and
being performed at home can easily be scheduled around other activi-
ties. It is also relatively easy work by comparison with agricul-
tural labor. Unfortunately, it is also poorly paid and, to some,
tedious and boring. Consequently, it will often be put aside in
favor of more lucrative employment when the opportunity presents
itself.

A detailed look at the economic activities of five selected
households, presented in the following section, illustrates the
multiple kinds of activities available to residents of Cacalchén and
the ways in which members of the community utilize these to compen-

sate for underemployment in the henequen fields.

Adgptive Strategies: Five Families
During June and July of 1972 I collected detailed household
budgets from five selected families, all of which depended in part
on hammock weaving for their incomes. During the two-month period
visits were made to these five households daily or every other day
to record all income and expenditures. In all five cases my key
informant was the wife of the household head and the person respon-

sible for most purchases. Both husband and wife take part in

202

decision making on any large purchases and men may accompany their
wives when bills are paid and the major weekly shopping is done on
Saturday or Sunday, but they generally entrust their wives with day-
to-day expenditures. 1

The five families studied were selected on the basis of
already established rapport, rather than as representative of par-
ticular economic situations. There was, however, considerable
variation among them in household composition and sources of income,
and their average weekly incomes during the two-month period varied
from 81.77 pesos to 146.37 pesos per household. In all five of
these families the head of the household was employed as an
ejidatario, and each engaged in other economic activities as well.
Three of the men had planted milpas, but these had not yet begun to
produce. All five families were dependent on the purchase of staple
foods during the period studied. Two of the men earned money by
working for the ex-haciendas, and two of them had small privately
owned parcels of land. In four of the five families wives and
adolescent children also made important contributions to family
income. Two of the families had daughters employed as servants,
while the daughter of a third was employed half-time in a corn mill.
In three of the families adolescent sons worked in the fields with
their fathers.

Two of the households were nuclear family groups, while
the other three were three-generation extended families. In all
cases the household head and his wife were mestizos, although in

two of the families the daughters were dressed as catrinas. In the

203

sketches which follow, the situation of each family is described as
it existed in the summer of 1972. All names have been changed to

protect the identity of those involved.

Teresa
Teresa and Antonio are in their late twenties and have three
children: Manuel and Daniel, ages eight and four, and Cristina,
age two. As a child, Antonio was an able student and completed
four years of school. Because of his literacy he has been chosen

as escribiente (record-keeper) for his ejido group, a job involving

 

considerable responsibility for drawing up the weekly work plan,
getting it approved by the Bank inspector, and recording the work
completed. His basic weekly salary for this is 70 pesos, and
occasionally he earns somewhat more.

Teresa earns money from both weaving hammocks and doing
embroidery. She prefers the latter and has a treadle sewing machine
which she uses for this purpose (as well as for sewing the family's
clothes). When such work is not available, and none was during the
two-month period of the study, she does some weaving. Since her
mother-in-law distributes hammock thread Teresa has no problem
securing supplies. However, the responsibilities of caring for the
household and three young children do not leave her much time for
this, and weaving accounts for only a small part of the family
income. Occasionally Antonio and the oldest boy assist with the

weaving, and it was Antonio who taught Teresa to weave.

204

Antonio has invested in a small business selling soft
drinks. He has a cooler in his house and buys four cases a week
from distributors' trucks which regularly deliver in Cacalchén. His
income from this activity, however, is minimal. Each case costs
16.75 pesos, and he must pay 1 peso in municipal business taxes and
3 pesos for ice to cool the soft drinks. His profit is only 85
centavos a case, and even this may not be realized since he often
sells on credit. He admits that he engages in this activity more
for pleasure than profit. It is also a form of saving; in a crisis
situation he can quickly realize cash from this source and use it
for necessities. This happened once during July when the payroll
for Antonio's ejido group was delayed. The Bank had discovered
that a team of 13 men had reported work completed when in fact it
was not. Because of this, they held back the pay for about 300
workers for five days. During this time Antonio used money from
the soft drink sales to buy food for the family, since they had
already reached the limit of credit that the stores would extend
to them.

Antonio does not own any livestock or land, and plants milpa
only when space is available in the new henequen fields. He planted
such a milpa during the spring of 1972, and spent some of his Sunday
mornings during June and July weeding it.

Teresa and Antonio live in an old house with walls made of
poles covered with mud, a thatched roof, and a dirt floor. The
25-year-old roof is in poor condition and began to leak badly with

the coming of the rainy season in 1972. Antonio and his uncle, who

205

is the owner of the house, spent one Sunday morning repairing the
roof, replacing parts with new grass and other parts with corru-
gated asphalt roofing material. But the roof was so dry and brittle
that while repairing some sections, others fell out. At the rear of
the house is a separate structure of poles and thatch used as a
kitchen and for bathing.

Antonio wants to build a new house, and has already bought
a lot next door for this purpose. So far, however, they have been
unable to accumulate the necessary funds or materials. If he
builds a traditional Maya-style house he can find many of the mate-
rials in the bush and get his brothers and uncles to help him build
it. However, he would like to build a house of concrete blocks and
plans to seek the assistance of Teresa's father to finance it.

Their household furnishings are not elaborate, consisting
of a wardrobe, the sewing machine, the soft drink cooler, a table,
a few chairs, and three hammocks. Antonio also owns a bicycle.

Table 30 summarizes the average weekly income and expenses
for the family during the two-month period of the study. Weaving
accounted for only 4.2 percent of the income during this period,
the lowest proportion of the five households studied. Only two
hammocks were made during this time, with a total value in wages
of 31 pesos. Their average weekly income of 81.77 pesos was also
the lowest of the five families, and consequently a larger propor-
tion of their expenses (88.4 percent) went for food. Miscellaneous

expenditures included cigarettes for Antonio (one pack a week) and

206

the money that he spends on the lottery. Once he won 300 pesos on

a lottery ticket, and another time he won 350.

During the two-month period they were fortunate enough

not to have any medical expenses, and they also spent very little

on clothing. Even so, they were spending about six pesos a week

over their income and making 66.2 percent of their purchases on

credit.

Table 30.--Teresa: Average weekly income and expenses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pesos Percent
Average Weekly Income
Ejido wages 78.33 95.8
Hammocks 3.44 4.2
Total Income 81.77 100.0
Average Weekly Expenses
Fooda 77.85 88.4
Non-food items
clothing 2.88
laundry (soap, etc.) 2.67
transportation .79
electricity 2.19
miscellaneous 1.70
total non-food items 10.23 11.6
Total Expensesb 88.08 100.0
Average Difference (Income less Expenses) - 6.31

 

aAverage expenditures for food per person per week:

bPercent of total purchases made on credit:

66.2.

15.57 pesos.

207

As the children grow older they will begin to assist with
weaving and work in the fields, thus contributing to the household
income, but they will also consume more in expenses for food and
clothing. It will be several years yet before Teresa's daughter is
old enough to assist with the household chores. As a result, the
family will be heavily reliant on what Antonio can earn for the next

few years, particularly if additional children are born.

Dolores

Dolores (33) and Fernando (35) have five children: three
daughters ages 14, 11, and 10, and two sons ages 12 and 8. All
seven live in a small one-room thatched house with a dirt floor.
The house has not been white-washed in some years.

Fernando has been assigned a full six days of work in his
ejido group, but he usually takes his oldest son with him and they
complete it in three or four days. He tries to get work in the
ex-haciendas on the other days, and was able to earn money in this
way during three of the eight weeks studied.

Dolores began to weave six years ago when her children
were small. Now she earns additional money by taking in washing
and ironing and by raising chickens, turkeys, and pigs. Most of the
weaving has been turned over to the three older children. Two of
Dolores' neighbors are hammock agents, and she regularly gets
materials from both of them.

Dolores' oldest daughter, Ana Maria, shares a job in a

local corn mill with another girl; they work alternate weeks. When

208

it is her turn Ana Maria works 51 hours a week for 30 pesos. During
her weeks off she weaves and helps her mother with household tasks.

Dolores never attended school and does not read or write,
but Ana Maria was a very able student in primary school and won first
place in a regional competition for sixth grade students. She and
other winning students from Yucatan were awarded a trip to Mexico
City where they went sight-seeing and met briefly with the President
of Mexico. Since her family could not afford to send her to secon-
dary school in Tixkokob, Ana Maria has hopes of becoming a seamstress.
Meanwhile, she is learning to be a rezadora (prayer-leader) and is
already receiving requests to lead prayers at novenas. Rezadoras
are not paid in money for their services, but receive compensation
in the form of extra portions of the food served at novenas, fiestas
for the saints, or other ritual events for which they perform. This
can be an important supplement to family income for a rezadora who
is much in demand.

Fernando also supplements the food supply by hunting birds
and small game. He has a shotgun and keeps three hunting dogs.
Dolores has a sow and two small pigs, aside from her chickens and
turkeys, and she spends more on animal feed than any of the other
four families.

The house was inherited from Fernando's father and is
furnished with a wardrobe, a few chairs, a combination table and
altar, and several hammocks. It has a separate kitchen shelter to
the rear. One of the family's most prized possessions is an image

of San Nicolas enclosed in glass. He is the patron saint of the

209

house and originally belonged to Fernando's patrilineal great-
grandfather.

During the two-month period studied, Dolores' family was
one of two which did not spend more than its income, partly because
there were no illnesses or other emergencies (see Table 31).
Although 70.3 percent of the money spent went for food, the amount
per person was the second lowest of the five families (13.63 pesos
per week), reflecting the contributions to the food supply from
Fernando's hunting, Ana Maria's activities as a rezadora, and the
eggs provided by Dolores' chickens.

The ceremonial expenses were occasioned by 67 pesos spent
on the ll-year-old daughter's first communion. Most of this money
was used to buy special clothing for the child to wear. Dolores is
bringing her daughters up as catrinas, and each of the girls has
one or two good dresses for such occasions. Dolores does not have
a sewing machine, but sometimes uses that of her husband's sister,
who lives next door.

Dolores and Fernando have reached the stage in the domestic
cycle when their children are beginning to make a significant con-
tribution to household income and they are able to make ends meet.
However, they have not been able to accumulate much in the way of

savings, and do not own any cattle or land other than the house lot.

Bartola
Bartola and Vicente are in their late thirties and have

four children: a boy 16 and three girls, 12, 5, and l. Bartola

210

Table 3l.--Dolores: Average weekly income and expenses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pesos Percent
Average Weekly Income
Ejido wages 77.38 54.0
Other agricultural labor 13.13 9.2
Hammocks 23.88 16.7
Other
Daughter's job in the corn mill 13.88
Washing and ironing 7.44
Grinding coconuts 1.31
Selling chickens 6.38
Total other 29.01 20.2
Total Income 143.40 100.1
Average Weekly Expenses
Fooda 95.40 70.3
Non-food items
Clothing 5-35
Laundry (soap, etc.) 6.88
Transportation 3.93
Electricity 2.19
Animal feed 10.00
Medical care .20
Ceremonial 8.38
Miscellaneous 3.35
Total non-food items 40.28 29.7
Total Expensesb 135.68 100.0
Average Difference (Income less Expenses) 7.72

 

aAverage expenditures for food per person per week:

bPercent of total purchases made on credit: 49.4.

13.63 pesos.

211

began to weave when her son José was a baby. At that time, Vicente
earned only 18 pesos a week, and Bartola had to weave two hammocks
a week to make ends meet. When José was two years old he was
seriously ill and Bartola sold her rings and gold chains to cover
the 700 pesos in medical expenses. Soon after that, the family's
fortunes began to improve. Vicente became a member of a grupo
solidario, and his earnings gradually increased as the group's
fields expanded. Today he and his son each earn 52 pesos weekly
from work in the ejido.

Vicente has a privately owned parcel of land which he
inherited. Several years ago, when the price of henequen was high,
he and his now deceased brother planted 8O mecates (3.2 hectares)
of henequen on this parcel. By the time they began to harvest it
the price had fallen to the point where Vicente could not afford to
keep the weeds cut and maintain its productivity. Now only about
30 mecates remain in exploitation; the rest has reverted to bush.
During the study period no henequen leaves were harvested and so
there was no income from this source. Now Vicente has 35 mecates
(1.4 hectares) of milpa planted on his parcel, enough to provide
the family with maize for about eight months if growing conditions
are propitious. However, there is not enough land to permit plant-
ing milpa every year. He also owns seven head of cattle.

Vicente's 78-year-old mother lives with them, since he
has inherited the family lot from his father. The lot has three
houses, all built in the Maya style. The main house has a tile

floor and houses the altar and a large trunk in which clothing is

212

kept. The house was first built when Vicente's parents married,
about 50 years ago. The roof has been replaced several times and
the large beams and roof supports have also been replaced. From
time to time, the mud walls are patched and whitewashed. Conse-
quently the house is in fairly good condition, as are the other two
on the lot. One of the latter is used for sleeping, while the other
serves for storage. The lot also contains a kitchen made of poles
and thatch and a rough chicken shelter.

For the past year, Bartola has been working as an agent
distributing hammock materials for several dealers in Tixkokob.
Every Saturday she makes the trip to deliver the finished hammocks
and pick up new materials, handling between 8 and 20 hammocks a
week. Her earnings from this activity, plus her own weaving, vary
somewhat from week to week, but average about 26 pesos. She also
keeps turkeys, chickens, and pigs. While the turkeys are raised
primarily for ceremonial use (it is the indispensable dish for most
ceremonial meals), the chickens provide eggs to supplement the daily
diet and the pigs are being raised for sale.

Bartola does not have a sewing machine. Sometimes her
mother-in-law sews by hand. Usually, however, Bartola buys mate-
rial and has the sewing done by a friend or relative for a nominal
fee.

The family's average weekly income and expenditures are
shown in Table 32. Bartola contributes nearly 20 percent of the
household income through her participation in the hammock industry.

Even so, the family was living considerably beyond its income during

213

this period. While food accounted for only 64.9 percent of their

expenses, it accounted for 80 percent of their income.

Table 32.--Bartola: Average weekly income and expenses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pesos Percent
Average Weekly Income
Ejido wages 104.00 80.1
Hammocks 25.89 19.9
Total Income 129.89 100.0
Average Weekly Expenses
Fooda 104.20 64.9
Non-food items
Clothing 13.18
Laundry (soap, etc.) 7.62
Transportation 3.67
Electricity 2.19
Animal feed 5.73
Medical care 11.67
Ceremonial 5.43
Miscellaneous 6.90
Total non-food items 56.39 35.1
b
Total Expenses 160.59 100.0
Average Difference (Income less Expenses) -30.7O

 

aAverage expenditures for food per person per week: 14.89 pesos.

bPercent of total purchases made on credit: 66.3.

214

The excess of expenses over income can be largely accounted
for by three categories: medical care, ceremonial expenses, and
clothing. During the two-month period studied the baby was ill for
several days with a gastro-intestinal disorder which did not respond
to treatment at the local government-run clinic. She was taken to
a private physician in Mérida, and the treatment (which worked) cost
90 pesos. This money came out of funds which Vicente had been
saving to buy a horse for travelling to his milpa. José has a
bicycle which he bought second-hand for 270 pesos, and father and
son ride it to the henequen fields where they work, about an hour
away on the road to Motul. The path to the milpa, however, is too
rough: fior a bicycle.

In June of 1972, Vicente and Bartola were co-sponsors of
a fiesta held in celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, the patron
saints of the community. In Cacalchén, fiestas are not sponsored
by individuals but by organizations called gremios (guilds). In
this case, 10 couples had been chosen (from the membership of 100
or so families) to co-sponsor the fiesta for the whole group. Each
couple contributed a turkey, 10 kilograms of maize, and 30 pesos,
while other members of the gremio gave smaller amounts according to
what they could afford. The events included a midday meal for all
members held at the home of the host, a procession of the saints, a
mass paid for by the gremio, and a traditional vaqueria (dance)
held in the evening at the home of the host.

The amount listed in Table 32 under ceremonial expenses

includes only the 30-peso contribution; the turkey was one which

215

Bartola had raised and the 10 kilograms of maize came out of the
household food supply. In preparation for the fiesta Bartola spent
86 pesos on new clothing for the family. The debts accumulated for
this fiesta will be paid off slowly over several months' time.

Miscellaneous expenses includes José's allowance, five pesos
weekly, which he spends on recreation.

Although this family is relatively fortunate in enjoying
a higher than average income from the ejido, they worry about the
future. José finished primary school with high grades, but his
parents cannot afford to send him to secondary school. Bartola's
brother is a tailor and they hope that José can learn the trade
from him. For the time being, however, his earnings are an essen-
tial contribution to the family budget and cannot be foregone while

he seeks additional training.

Angela
Angela (39) and Jacobo (49) have been married for 24 years,

but had no children during the first 10 years of marriage. Both
were able to work and accumulate savings, and they built a sub-
stantial masonry house with a large single room in front and a
Spacious covered veranda behind. Jacobo also owns a parcel of land
planted with 50 mecates of henequen, and has eight head of cattle.
Living with them are Angela's widowed mother (58) and their
four children, two daughters (13 and 9) and two sons (7 and l).
Jacobo works only one or two days a week for the ejido,

and his weekly earnings from this source average 25.70 pesos. Most

216

of his income is earned through work in the decorticating plant

of a nearby hacienda, a job he has held for 25 years. This work
pays more than field work, and his average weekly earnings from

this source were 81.44. Since he usually works seven days a week

he has no time for planting milpa. When his henequen plants require
care or cutting, he usually hires his brother-in-law to do it, for
the same reason. Consequently, it has been difficult to give the
henequen plot optimum care during recent years when the price of
fiber has been low.

Angela's daughters do all of the weaving, since Angela
never learned to do this. Her mother does much of the shopping,
cooking and other housework, so that Angela has quite a bit of
time to devote to other activities. She earns money by taking in
ironing, embroidery, and by drawing embroidery designs for others
(two pesos per pattern). Her most important contribution, however,
is in the form of the gifts of food which are received in exchange
for her services as a rezadora. Angela is much in demand for this,
and the family received gifts of food from this source on 16 occa-
sions during the two-month period. Since the prayer sessions
usually take only an hour or two, and the food reciprocated may
serve as the main meal for the whole family, this employment of her
time is more lucrative than any of the money-making activities open
to local women. The figures in Table 33 do not include this impor-
tant contribution to the food supply.

Angela is extremely active in church affairs as well.

She sings in the choir and belongs to Acci6n Catélica. She and

217

Table 33.--Angela: Average weekly income and expenses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pesos Percent
Average Weekly Income
Ejido wages 25.70 17.6
Other agricultural labor 81.44 55.6
Hammocks 7.00 4.8
Other
Ironing 6.44
Embroidery 6.11
Daughter's job as servant 17.78
Miscellaneous 1.89
Total other 32.22 22.0
Total Income 146.36 100.0
Average Weekly Expenses
Fooda 911.09 65.2
Non-food items
Clothing 18.02
Laundry (soap, etc.) 6.33
Transportation 1.23
Electricity 21.19
Ceremonial 5.38
Miscellaneous 17.00
Total non-food items 50.15 34.8
Total Expensesb 144.24 100.0
Average Difference (Income less Expenses) 2.12

 

aAverage expenditures for food per person per week: 13.44 pesos.

bPercent of total purchases made on credit: 48.42.

218

Jacobo are members of a gremio which sponsors the fiesta of one of

the saints, and during the study period she was donating her time

3

to make an estandarte for this group. Her family was the only

 

one of the five studied to make a regular church offering, one or
two pesos every Sunday. Her religious devotion has earned her the
respect of her neighbors and she has numerous comadres and compadres.

Angela was also the president of an organization of mothers
involved in a food distribution program. The food, provided by the
European Common Market countries under a foreign aid program, was
supplied through the local government-operated clinic and was used to
supplement the diets of infants who were found to be underweight.
The foods provided included powdered milk, cooking oil, and dried
fish.

Angela's oldest daughter, Carmela, works as a maid in
Merida. She earns less than many servants (75 pesos a month) but
her employer is a seamstress and is teaching her how to sew.

The family has a windmill and uses it to irrigate fruits
and vegetables grown on the house lot. During the study period
12 pesos was earned from the sale of bananas, but most of the
products of the garden are consumed by the family or given to
Angela's brother and sister-in-law who live next door. They are
compadres of Angela and Jacobo and the two families exchange many
small services and favors.

During the period studied Angela's family had the highest
income of the five families. Due to the garden and the gifts of

food received, they also ate better than any of the other families,

219

even though the amount they spent per person on food was the lowest
of the five families: 13.44 pesos per week.

Nevertheless, Angela's family spent nearly everything that
they earned. They Spent more on clothing than any of the other
families. Also, they were the only ones to spend any money on books
or toys: three pesos for a religious book and one peso for a plas-
tic toy truck. Fortunately, they had no expenses for medical care.
The large miscellaneous category includes a fine of 100 pesos which
Jacobo had to pay when one of his cattle was caught in a henequen
field. Because of the increase in these fines, he was giving
serious thought to selling his cattle and putting the money in the
bank. If he kept it in cash (several thousand pesos, since a full-
grown animal is worth about 1,000 pesos) he fears that it would
soon be gone in loans to friends, neighbors and relatives. That is
what happened the last time he sold an animal, and he finds it dif-

ficult to deny these requests.

use;
Isabel (46) and Genaro (55) have four children, two of whom
are already married. Their oldest son lives next door with his
wife and five young children, and his children are frequently run-
ning in and out of their grandmother's house. The second son, also
married, works in Campeche with the government anti-malarial program.
His wife and baby live with Isabel and Genaro, and he comes home

every two weeks to visit them.

220

Isabel's only daughter, Juanita, is 15 years old. During
June of 1972 she began to work as a cook for one of the town's more
affluent families. She works about 48 hours a week and receives
IOO pesos per month plus breakfast and lunch. (Benjamin, ll, helps
his father in the fields, assists with the weaving, and spends
considerable time caring for his infant nephew. Unable to attend
classes after the fifth grade, Benjamin finished primary school
through free tutoring services offered by one of the resident school
teachers.

Ten years ago, Genaro made about 150 pesos a week in the
ejido. Since that time the fortunes of his ejido group have declined
and he now earns an average salary of 61 pesos a week. He has a milpa
in ejido lands which is in its second year of cultivation, but
Genaro is subject to frequent illnesses and is reliant on Benjamin
for assistance both in the milpa and in the henequen fields.

Several years ago Juanita learned to weave from one of her
cousins, and she in turn taught her mother. In 1970 Isabel and some
other women decided to form a cooperative of weavers, and they
sought assistance from the state government in doing this. The
state of Yucatan had established a program to promote the formation
of artisan cooperatives as one way in which to ameliorate the prob-
lems of rural poverty and underemployment. Isabel became the presi-
dent of the Cacalchén cooperative, and they obtained loans of mate-
rials and cash worth 122,683 pesos from the state agency in charge
of artisan cooperatives. The materials and cash payments for labor

were distributed to 137 members, and each member was to complete

221

the number of hammocks assigned and return them to the state agency
for sale through their Shep in Mérida. The wage rates paid by the
cOOperative were somewhat higher than those paid by private dealers,
and several hundred hammocks were made under this program in 1971.
Unfortunately, the state cooperative program had just been
launched and a number of mistakes were made. Representatives of
the state agency supervised the distribution of materials and gave
them to everyone who wanted to participate, in some cases to persons
the local cooperative officers felt were unreliable. Also, wages
were paid in advance, being passed out along with the materials.
As a result, 16 persons defaulted and failed to return the finished
hammocks. Meanwhile, all materials and cash distributed had been
charged against the account of the c00perative as a group, and the
cooperative was left with a debt of 6,000 pesos. The state agency
told the officers that no more materials would be forthcoming until
all members complied and the debt was discharged. As president of
the cooperative, Isabel had to make several phone calls and trips to
Merida and deal with the tangled red tape of various bureaucracies
in order to set matters straight and secure continued work for the
cooperative. Over several months, she spent about 150 pesos in this
way, none of which could be reimbursed since the cooperative had no
funds.
Finally, the state agency renewed the supply of materials
in May of 1972. This time, however, Isabel handled all of the dis-
.
tribution, and no cash payments were made until the hammocks were

turned over to the state. Continued operation in this form, although

222

less “cooperative“ and structurally identical to the methods used
by private dealers, was of some benefit to the community, since the
wage rates, although lower than during the early days of the coop-
erative, were still higher than those paid by dealer's agents

(six pesos per madeja rather than five).

Isabel not only distributed the materials and wages, but
she and other members of her family were busy during May, June, and
July making arms for all of the hammocks turned in. For this work
she was paid one peso per madeja by the agency. At this rate, she
and Benjamin were able to earn about 12 pesos per day each. Juanita,
Genaro, and Isabel's daughter-in-law Marta also helped with this
work in their spare time. As a result, the income which Isabel's
family enjoyed during June and July of 1972 was considerably higher
than normal.

By mid-July, however, supplies from the state began to diminish
and continued to be quite irregular for the rest of the year. During
those periods when materials were not available through the c00per-
ative, Isabel earned money by weaving for other suppliers and by
doing sewing and embroidery for a number of customers. Much of the
embroidery was done for the woman who owns the local dry goods shop,
and the earnings were applied to the family's bill at the shop.

Three years ago, Isabel and Genaro were able to build a new
one-room house of rubble masonry. Genaro collected most of the
materials in the bush, including the firewood for burning the lime
to make the mortar, and built the house himself with the help of

his sons. The roof beams, door and door frames were purchased. The

223

thatched roof is made largely of grass, except for an edge of more
durable palm leaves which were purchased. The floor has been finished
with sascab, a type of earth which forms a relatively hard surface.
Isabel hopes to finish the floor with concrete or tile, but they
have not yet been able to afford this. There is another, older
house at the back of the lot, and a kitchen shelter to one side.
Isabel has a few turkey chicks, but no chickens or pigs.
Genaro once owned two cows, both with calves, but all the animals
were sold when Isabel required surgery shortly after the birth of
Benjamin. Benjamin had to be bottle-fed as an infant, at a cost of
22 pesos a week for powdered milk, so that the family was unable to
rebuild its savings, and since then Genaro's earnings have declined.
Of the five families, Isabel's had the highest proportion
of income derived from hammock production: 30.2 percent (see
Table 34). This was due to the unusually large amount being earned
through the cooperative during the period studied. Juanita's con-
tribution to the household averaged only 12.50 pesos a week because
she began her job in mid-June and had received only one month's
salary by the end of July. Roberto, the son whose wife and baby
liVe in the household, regularly contributes 10 pesos a week for food.
This amount does not really cover the costs of feeding his wife and
baby, since Isabel spent an average of 16.90 per person per week on
food. However, Marta's father is a butcher and occasionally gives
them cuts of meat. Also, Roberto assists his parents in other ways.

For example, Isabel's work distributing materials for the cooperative

224

Table 34.--Isabel: Average weekly income and expenses.

 

Pesos Percent

 

Average Weekly Income

 

 

 

Ejido wages 61.38 46.3
Hammocks 40.00 30.2
Other
Daughter's job as servant 12.50
Son's contribution for food 10.00
Sewing and embroidery 7.50
Miscellaneous 1.25
Total other 31.25 23.6
Total Income 132.63 100.1

Average Weekly Expenses

 

Fooda 101.39 60.4

Non-food items

 

 

Clothing .16
Laundry (soap, etc.) 2.98
Transportation 11.95
Electricity 2.19
Animal feed 2.20
Medical care 9.28
Ceremonial 33-53
Miscellaneous 4.08
Total non-food items 66.37 39.6
Total Expensesb 167.76 100.0
Average Difference (Income less Expenses) -35.13

 

aAverage expenditures for food per person per week: 16.90 pesos.

bPercent of total purchases made on credit: 32.1.

225

required the use of a scale, but the c00perative had no funds to
cover this expense, so Roberto bought a scale for her.

The fairly large amount spent by this family for transpor-
tation had two causes. Genaro and his son usually take the bus to
work in the henequen fields near Las Ruinas de Aké, and this con-
sumes six to eight pesos a week. The rest was occasioned by Isabel's
trips to Mérida in connection with cooperative business.

In June, Genaro and Isabel contributed 35 Pesos for the
religious fiesta held in honor of Saints Peter and Paul. However,
the amount devoted to ceremonial expenses was caused largely by
the death of a niece (Genaro's elder brother's daughter) and the
expenses associated with her funeral. The niece, who had been
living with her husband in Quintana Roo, had terminal cancer. She
came to Merida for treatment and stayed with Isabel and Genaro for
a short time, but soon died in the hospital in Merida.. Genaro,
his widowed brother (the woman's father), the woman's two brothers,
and her husband shared the funeral expenses, Genaro spending 123 pesos
on liquor and food for the wake, and another 22 pesos for the
rituals marking the seventh day after death. Most of these purchases
were made on credit and it was understood that the other four men
would reimburse him for their shares. By the end of the study period,
three weeks later, he had not yet recovered any of these expenses.

The medical expenses were largely accounted for by treatment
which Isabel received for her ”nerves.” A private physician in
Mérida charged her 18 pesos for an office call, and prescribed 48

pesos worth of pills.

226

In sum, the family's income was higher than normal during
the two months studied, but so were their expenses. Consequently,
they were Spending about 35 pesos a week beyond their income, with
few prospects of increased income in the near future. This no
doubt accounts in part for Isabel's ”nerves.“ She also worries
about her oldest son's children. They are often hungry and depend
on their grandmother for occasional handouts. Juanita will even-
tually marry and her contribution to family income will be lost.
Fortunately, both Roberto and Benjamin have finished primary school
and Roberto has a good job. The support of these two sons will be

increasingly important as Genaro gets older and less able to work.

Dietary Patterns

 

Although there were sizeable differences in the incomes of
these families and in family size, the differences in patterns of
food consumption were not great. All of the families typically had
a breakfast of bread and hot chocolate, the latter prepared with
water rather than milk and sweetened with sugar. Coffee was rarely
drunk for breakfast, or at any other time of the day.

The midday meal was the largest for all of the families, and
usually consisted of a quarter-kilogram of meat cooked with beans,
rice, or vegetables and served with tortillas. All of the families
had meat at least four times a week; Teresa and Angela served meat
six days out of seven. Eggs were served about once a week in all
five cases, but frequently two or three eggs were shared by the

entire family.

227

Dolores and Bartola each bought 30 kilograms of maize a
week, while Angela bought only 20. Their families are of similar
size, but Angela's family ate proportionately more meat, fruits, and
vegetables. Also, both Dolores and Bartola used some of the maize
as animal feed. Teresa and Isabel bought tortillas rather than
making them. Informants attributed the tendency toward buying
rather than making tortillas to the increasing occupation of women's
time with weaving. One corn mill owner estimated that 40 percent
of his customers were buying tortillas rather than bringing their
maize to be ground. This trend is also encouraged by the increasing
scarcity of firewood for cooking the nixtamal (corn cooked with lime,
from which tortillas are made).

The quantity of beans consumed varied from one kilogram a
week by Teresa's family to three kilograms a week by Dolores' family.
All of the families consumed large amounts of sugar. Teresa and
Bartola bought one kilogram weekly while the other women purchased
two. The sugar is used not only to sweeten chocolate, but in making
225213, a corn soup or mush which the men carry to the fields in
gourd containers for mid-morning refreshment.

The greatest differences among these families were observed
in the items consumed in the evening meal. All of the families ate
the leftovers of the midday meal, If any, accompanied by bread or
tortillas. However, Isabel's and Teresa's families consumed bread
more frequently at this meal than the other families, perhaps because
they were not making their own tortillas. Likewise, these two

families had chocolate with the evening meal much more frequently

228

than the other families. Dolores' family consumed the fewest
”luxury” foods: they consumed less bread, chocolate, and soft
drinks and more tortillas and beans than the other families.

Although most of the families ate meat or eggs several
times a week, the quantities consumed were very small, averaging
less than 50 grams daily per person. Much of the meat consumed was
fat pork. Other high-protein foods, such as milk, cheese, or
fish, were consumed only rarely. 'Rasome extent, this low intake
of animal protein was offset by the heavy reliance on beans. All
but one of the families, Angela's, also consumed very little fruit
except for bananas. They rely on the vegetables cooked along with
the midday meal--onions, squash, chile peppers, tomatoes, and
carrots--for vitamins. Since few fruits and vegetables are grown
locally most people must buy them at prices which are substantially
higher than those charged in Mérida.

Judging by these data and by the small size and weight of
the children in these families, it is probably safe to conclude that
they were not enjoying optimum nutrition. Indeed, a local study
undertaken by a medical student fulfilling her year of social service
found that, based on national norms, 22.0 percent of 82 pre-school
children examined weighed 91 to 110 percent of normal weight, 56.1
percent weighed 76 to 90 percent of normal weight, 19.5 percent
weighed 61 to 75 percent of normal weight, and 2.4 percent weighed
less than 60 percent of normal weight. During the first nine months
of 1971 the local clinic, which serves all ejidatario families in

Cacalchén, diagnosed an average of 25 cases monthly of nutritional

229

deficiency (including an average of three cases of pellagra) and

34 cases monthly of anemia (Hernandez, 1971).

Summary

The detailed study of these five families reinforces the
survey data in emphasizing the heavy reliance of the residents of
Cacalchén on cash income and the relative unimportance of subsis-
tence agriculture. Although three of the families had planted
milpas, the harvest was still several months away and none of the
families had supplies of staples from the previous year. In three
of the cases, contributions to the food supply from gardening on the
house lot and raising small animals were insignificant; in the other
two they were of only minimal importance.

This picture would likely be altered somewhat if the two-
month study had been conducted in early winter after the harvest
of the milpas, rather than in June and July. However, even the three
families who had planted milpa did not expect this to provide more
than a few months' supply of maize and beans. All emphasized the
small size of the plots and the possibility of losing the cr0p if
there were not enough rain. Indeed, during July a dry spell of
about two weeks killed some of the young plants.

Combining the incomes of all five families, the proportions
shown in Table 35 emerge. Earnings in the ejido supplied only 54.7
percent of income. In a community so dependent on the cash economy
the need for supplemental income is obvious, and these families

(like others in the community) are reliant primarily on hammock

230

weaving (15.8 percent of income), agricultural labor (14.9 percent),

and domestic service (7.0 percent) to make ends meet.

Table 35.--Combined incomes of five families by source.

 

 

Source Percent
Ejido wages 54-7
Hammocks 15.8
Agricultural labor 14.9
Domestic service (includes washing

and ironing) 7.0
Sewing and embroidery 2.1
Other 5-5

Total 100.0

 

The proportion of income from weaving varied from 4.2 per-
cent to 30.2 percent among these families, at a time of year when
the peak season of hammock production was ending and materials were
becoming scarcer. Hence the figures may be considered representa-
tive of the year as a whole.

Of interest are the significant contributions made by women
to family income. Of the five women described, four take active
roles in contributing to family earnings, but choose somewhat dif-
ferent ways in which to do this. Dolores combines weaving with other
activities which can be done at home: washing and ironing and raising

animals. With her daughter's job in the corn mill, female labor

231

accounted for approximately 37 percent of the family income. Bartola
not only weaves but distributes hammock materials, thus earning
approximately 20 percent of the family income. Isabel performs a
similar role, but has followed a more political means to achieve it
through community organization and tapping government resources.
Although the whole family worked making arms for the c00perative's
hammocks, so that the contribution of each is not clearly separable,
Isabel and her daughter probably brought in between 35 and 40 per-
cent of total cash income during the period studied. Angela's role
is a more traditional one, that of rezadora, but one which brings
substantial material benefits. Aside from the food brought in from
this source, Angela and her daughters provided 25.9 percent of the
family's cash income.

These four families were also ones in which the women were
relatively free of the burdens of infant care. Dolores and Isabel
no longer have small children, while Bartola and Angela can count
on the help of older children and elderly women (Bartola's mother-
in-law and Angela's mother) to assist with child care. By contrast,
Teresa, with three small childern and living in a nuclear family
household, contributed only 4.2 percent of the family income.

The combined expenses of the five families are shown in
Table 36. In all of the families, food accounted for more than 60
percent of all expenses. When food expenditures are calculated as
a preportion of income, they range from 64 percent of income in the
case of Angela's family to 95 percent in the case of Teresa's. The

preportion of purchases made on credit rather than in cash varied

232

from 32 percent to 66 percent. Three of the families were able to
pay these off each week, but the other two had run up accounts of
several hundred pesos. For the most part, credit buying between
paydays is a necessity. However, it also means that the people pay
more for their food in the long run. Most of the stores extending
credit charge prices as much as 30 percent higher than those charged
by the local Conasupo store (part of a government-operated food _
chain). However, the Conasupo store was not allowed to sell on

credit.

Table 36.--Combined expenses of five families.

 

 

 

Category Percent
Food 57-9
Clothing 5.7
Laundry I 3.8
Transportation 3.1
Electricity 1.6
Animal feed 2.6
Medical care 3.0
Ceremonial 7.6
Miscellaneous 4.7

Total 100.0

 

233

Expenditures for ceremonial purposes account for a larger
proportion of expenses than any other category except food. Nearly
all of the money spent in this category was spent on rites of passage
or celebrations for the saints. To the extent that these events
involve serving a ceremonial meal, the fiestas serve a redistribu-
tional function, and this is the largest part of the expense involved

in sponsoring the fiestas of the saints. In addition, a part of the

 

money is used for paying for the mass (usually lOO pesos), buying
fireworks, decorating the saint with new garments, and paying musi-
cians to play for the procession and dance.

For women, novenas and fiestas provide the major opportuni-
ties for recreation and for assuming active public roles. Local
politics is dominated by men, as are sporting events such as baseball
or soccer matches. Cantinas and pool halls are patronized only by
men. Religious fiestas and such events as wedding fieStas are the
only occasions when women drink liquor, and even then they indulge
only moderately.

On the whole, expenditures on recreation other than fiestas
were relatively insignificant, even for men.“ Only one person in
these five families, Bartola's son José, regularly attended movies,
and Isabel and her daughter Juanita were the only persons during the
two months to attend a public dance where admission was charged.

Although free medical services were offered in the local
clinic, 3.0 percent of the money spent by these families went for
medical care. The clinic was not well supplied with medicines, and

the doctor in charge in 1972, a medical student performing his social

231.

service, was not well regarded by the community. Presumably this
problem has been ameliorated, since most of the henequen zone was
incorporated into the federal social security medical program by
1973. In that year a new free clinic was opened in Cacalchén with
improved facilities and supplies and staffed by certified physicians.

Miscellaneous expenditures were made up largely of such
things as cigarettes, matches, haircuts, an occasional razor blade,
or firewood purchased when there was not time enough to gather it.

It is probably safe to say that approximately 90 percent of
all money spent by these families was spent on necessities. It is
worth noting that although food accounted for only 67.9 percent of
all money spent, ejido wages accounted for only 54.7 percent of all
income. It is clear that the position of these families would be
considerably more difficult if they had to rely on work in the
henequen ejidos alone. The need for supplemental income is self-
evident. Weaving, among other activities, helps to fulfill this
need.

The data presented here, both from the household survey
and from the detailed family studies, indicates that the use of
the term ”underemployment“ to refer to the Yucatecan henequen zone
may be somewhat misleading. The term implies that the rural popula-
tion is burdened with a large amount of unused labor time for which
no employment opportunities exist. My data, and the statements of
many informants, indicate that this is not the case. Opportunities
for employment exist, and most able-bodied adults are working full-

time in one way or another. In addition, employment of child labor

235

is very common. However, nearly all of the existing opportunities

for employment are poorly paid. The wideSpread adoption of weaving
in Cacalchén in the past decade is an attempt to compensate for

the low incomes from other sources and for the effects of inflation,

an increasingly serious problem in the last few years. While
weaving cannot support a family, it can help to make ends meet

under these difficult conditions.

236

Footnotes--Chapter 5

lHetzmek is a traditional Maya ceremony in which the infant
is for the first time carried astride the hip. The ceremony is
performed at three months for a girl and four months for a boy. The
child's godparent places in its hands articles which symbolize skills
and abilities suitable to an adult of its sex; the ritual is pre-
sumed to have the effect of encouraging the sound development of
these skills.

2Although I initially attempted to collect figures for
weekly production and earnings, since other kinds of employment in
the community are paid on a weekly basis, it soon became clear that
it was easier for informants to make estimates on a monthly basis.
This is because it frequently takes longer than a week to make a
hammock.

3Estandartes are large banners made out of velvet and bear-
ing the image of a saint. They are embroidered in silk thread and
decorated with sequins, and usually bear the name of the saint, the
name of the sponsoring gremio, and the year in which it was made.
All the banners, new and old, are carried in the annual procession
in honor of the saint whose image they bear.

 

“Although the data gathered were as complete as I could
make them, there is one item about which I was not able to get much
information: the amounts which the men in these families spent on
liquor. I believe that in these five cases it was minimal. One of
the men had quit drinking because of stomach problems, while two of
the others claimed that they drank only at wedding fiestas, wakes,
or similar events. In the other cases I was never able to get more
than an evasive answer, but if the amounts spent in this way had
been high, I certainly would have heard about it through the gossip
of others.

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS

The basic aim of this study has been to further understand-
ing of the evolution of handicraft industries in Yucatan through the
analysis of one particular industry, the hammock industry. At this
point we may consider in what ways developments in the hammock indus-
try parallel developments in other handicraft industries of the
Mesoamerican region, and how they compare with historically known
phases of economic development in Europe.

It is abundantly clear that the hammock industry of Yucatan
is a rather different phenomenon, in terms of the relations of pro-
duction, distribution, and marketing, from the kinds of craft
specialization which have most frequently been described for various
areas of the Mesoamerican highlands. Notably lacking is a system
of periodic markets involving a high proportion of direct sales
between producers and consumers. Also, hammock production is not
carried on by independent peasant-artisan households engaged in
simple commodity production, but by a system of manufacture organ-
ized by capitalists who control the means of production. A large
proportion of the work force consists not of subsistence cultivators
and their families, but of rural proletarians.

The hammock industry is of particular interest precisely
because the relations of production are of a type, the putting-out

237

238

system, not extensively reported in the ethnographic literature.

It is my contention that this system is becoming much more common
in Mexico under the influence of tourism. A number of studies
indicate that control of artisan production and marketing by middle-
men is increasing in several areas, although the details of this
process are variable and merely hinted at in some cases.

An important paper on the Tarascan region by Durston (1971)
describes the increasing concentration of the marketing of pottery
in the hands of four middlemen who maintain their control in part
through providing production materials on credit. He also des-
cribes the relationship of this process to class differentiation of
the peasant community, as some potters become wage laborers working
for the middlemen. The system of "farming out,” according to
Durston, may be observed for other crafts of the Tarascan area. One
such instance is reported by Belshaw, involving the sewing of folk
costumes for tourists (1967:221-27).

Nutini briefly describes the way in which serape-weavers
in San Bernardino Contla (Tlaxcala) are dependent for their supplies
of wool on a few merchants who use credit mechanisms to maintain
their control of the industry (1968:46-50). A situation similar
to debt servitude appears to exist among potters in Temascalcingo,
a community in the State of Mexico. One middleman there operates
a ”tienda de raya,” in which potters pay off their debts in pots
(Papousek, 1974). Similar but less developed types of merchant
control are reported for pottery production in Jalisco by Diaz

(1966:138-97) and in Oaxaca by Stolmaker (n.d.). In the latter

 

239

case, potters tend to seek advances from the dealers during the

rainy season when pottery production falls. Also, these potters
increasingly deliver to dealers and shops in Oaxaca City rather

than marketing wares themselves. My own inquiries in the Oaxaca
market indicate that many of the hand-embroidered garments sold

to tourists there are produced under the putting-out system.I

These studies, as well as the one presented here, suggest
that this increased concentration of control in the hands of entre-
preneurs is associated not with rural development in the usual
sense in which the term has been understood (increased incomes and
higher standards of living for the artisans) but with the increasing
differentiation of the rural population into petty bourgeois and
proletarian or semi-proletarian classes, withtfluadirect producers
often living in situations of extreme poverty. These results
should give pause to those who argue in favor of encouraging handi-
craft industries as a way to overcome rural poverty (e.g., Chevalier,
1967:192).

That studies of the putting-out system by anthropologists
have not been common may be due to a romantic bias in anthropology,
and the concomitant search for pre-Columbian traditions unsullied
by the impact of modernization. It may also, however, reflect real
changes in the organization of craft production taking place in
Mesoamerica over the past two decades in response to increasing
tourism. The discussion in Chapters 1 and 2 suggests that changes
in artisan production and marketing have long occurred in response

to changes in the larger regional, national, and international

240

economies. It is not surprising, then, that this should continue
to happen under the impact of contemporary economic changes, includ-
ing tourism and the growth of a foreign market for handicrafts.

Although not extensively described for Mesoamerica, the
putting-out system is well-known as a stage in the evolution of
European capitalism, and has been described and analyzed by numerous
authors. The system was well-established in the English textile
trades by the 17005. Merchants controlled marketing and provided
workers with materials, using agents to distribute the work (Hammond
and Hammond, 1970; Mantoux, 1961). By the early 18005 the system
had become the predominant form of industrial organization in England,
including the hand-loom weavers, woolcombers, framework-knitters,
glove-makers, pillow-lace makers, nail-makers, chain-makers, boot
and shoe workers, some potters, and many others (Thompson, 1968:260).
Eventually, many of these industries came under the factory system,
but outwork persisted in some branches (such as tailoring and
dressmaking) into the twentieth century.

The putting-out system also prevailed in Russia in the late
nineteenth century. Lenin, who called it ”capitalist domestic
manufacture,” describes its operations in the making of cloth, felt,
rope, furniture, leather goods and furs, stockings, combs, brushes,
pottery, cutlery, and other metal goods (1964).

The role of the putting-out system in the impoverishment
and exploitation of the workers is detailed by Marx (1967, vol. 1:
466-69), Lenin (1964:442-44), the Hammonds (1970:47-63), Mantoux

(1961:69-77), and Thompson (1963:314-49), among others. The work

 

241

force, frequently made up of women and children, suffered from long
hours, low wages, and poor health, and were often paid in provi-
sions rather than money. Typically, their wages were lower than
those paid to factory workers.

In both England and Russia the spread of the system was
intimately connected with the commercialization of agriculture. In
England, the enclosure acts and the adoption of scientific manage-
ment practices placed rural labor at the disposal of industry. The
growth of the putting-out system was only partly a process of for-
merly independent artisans falling into dependence on merchants;
in many cases it was a product of merchants seeking out new sources
of cheap labor (Mantoux, 1961).

In Russia, Lenin emphasized the intimate connection between
the parallel transformations in agriculture and industry. The
abolition of serfdom in 1860 contributed to the proletarianization
of rural labor. The landless and near-landless peasants became the
rural proletarians employed as outworkers; the prosperous peasants
and kulaks became the employers of wage labor, not only in agricul-
ture but in the crafts as well.

Extensive incidence of home-work pre-supposes two conditions:
(1) the existence of a mass of rural proletarians who hays to
sell their labour-power, and to sell it cheaply; (2) the
existence of well-to-do peasants, well acquainted with local

conditions, who can undertake the function of agents in dis-
tributing work (1964:446).

 

The spread of outwork was also stimulated, paradoxically,
by mechanical inventions. In England, the numbers employed as
outworkers multiplied enormously from 1780-1830 in response to

improvements in industrial technology. These improvements provided

242

the materials with which to employ the outworkers: machine-spun

yarn for the weavers, nail-rod for the nailmakers, etc. (Thompson,
1963:260-61; Mantoux, 1961:219). In the garment industry, invention
of the sewing machine gave impetus to the use of outworkers to pro-
duce ready-made clothing in the latter part of the nineteenth

century (Landes, 1969:294-96). Thompson argues that the putting-

out system was thus an integral part of the industrial revolution:
”Indeed, we may say that large-scale sweated outwork was as intrinsic
to this revolution as was factory production and steam” (Thompson,
1963:260-61).

The spread of the putting-out system under these circum-
stances came about in two principal ways. In the first, the merchant
capitalist, already engaged in long-distance trade, gradually came
to control the producers through credit mechanisms and eventually
through the direct ownership of the means of production. In the second,
the artisan himself became a merchant and capitalist, employing
others. The second way, according to Marx, was the truly revolu-
tionary way:

However much this [the first way] serves historically as a
stepping-stone . . . it cannot by itself contribute to the
overthrow of the old mode of production, but lends rather to
preserve and retain it as its precondition. The manufacturer
. . was merely a merchant, who let the weavers carry on in
their old unorganised way and exerted only a merchant's con-
trol, for that was for whom they really worked. This system
presents everywhere an obstacle to the real capitalist mode
of production and goes under with its development. Without
revolutionising the mode of production, it only worsens the
condition of the direct producers, turns them into mere wage-
workers and proletarians under conditions worse than those

under the immediate control of capital, and appropriates their
surplus-labour on the basis of the old mode of production.

243

The transition to large-scale industry depends on the techni-
cal development of the small owner-operated establishments
. . . (1967, vol. 3:334-35).

An important discussion by Sweezy, Dobb, and Takahashi (1967)
deals with the relative importance of the two ways in various times
and places. Takahashi points out that this question is related to
the nature of the class structures involved in the transition to
capitalism in different countries, and argues that although the
second way may have been the most significant for Western EurOpe,
that the first way was more important in Japan and Prussia (1967:
47-55).

Whatever pattern was most common, the putting-out system
had certain advantages which prolonged its use. Most importantly,
wages were kept down, investment in means of production was mini-
mized, and labor could easily be laid off when demand slowed.
There were also disadvantages, however. Embezzlement of materials
by the workers was a particularly widespread problem in the eigh-
teenth century, leading to repeated efforts to halt the theft of
materials by enacting ever stiffer penalties (Landes, 1969:60).
Prevention of embezzlement was the chief advantage claimed by
those masters who had weaving done on their own premises (Hammond
and Hammond, 1971:171). Other disadvantages of the putting-out
system included the irregular work habits of the outworkers and
the tendency of the peasants to put aside the work during periods
of peak labor requirements in agriculture (Thompson, 1963:358-59).

One can understand why the thoughts of employers turned to

workshops where the men would be brought together to labour
under watchful overseers, and to machines that would solve

244
the shortage of manpower while curbing the insolence and dis-
honesty of the men (Landes, 1969:60).

The Yucatecan hammock industry bears some similarities to
the EurOpean situations described above, but is also different in a
number of respects. Given the grim conditions described by the
above authors, it appears that the abuses of the system were greater
in the European case. In Cacalchén, weavers do not ordinarily spend
12 or 14 hours a day at their looms, nor are they paid in provisions.
However, the wages of the weavers are certainly among the lowest in
Yucatan. They compare unfavorably with the wages paid in domestic
service or agricultural labor, and factory workers in Merida earn
6 to 10 times as much. Parallel with theEuropeancase, women and
children make up a large part of the labor force.

As in Europe, the development of the putting-out system in
Yucatan has been stimulated by developments in mechanization. The
production of factory-made cotton cord, first in Mexico City and
then in Mérida itself, has provided cheap and abundant materials
for the expansion of the hammock industry, and at the same time has
allowed a small number of merchants to control the supply. A some-
what similar process has taken place in the production of embroidered
huipiles. Merchants provide cloth and embroidery thread, while the
use of the sewing machine has allowed a productivity several times
greater than is possible in traditional hand-embroidery. In both
cases, the development of distant markets has helped to increase
merchant control.

While the production of cotton cord for hammocks has been

thoroughly mechanized, the weaving process itself has not.

2115

Nevertheless, some of the same pressures toward mechanization which
occurred in the European Situation also exist in the hammock indus-
try. Like their eighteenth and nineteenth century counterparts, the
hammock merchants encounter various problems which create time-lags
in production and affect the quality of the finished product. Com-
plaints are frequently heard about the embezzlement of materials
and the irregularity of the work habits of the weavers, and it is
sometimes implied that the weavers' refusal to work more rapidly

is due to laziness or to the fact that the wages are only a sup-
lement to family income and not really necessary. Other complaints
have to do with the poor quality of the work: dr0pped stitches,
incorrect measurements, and a reluctance to execute complex designs.

These problems would obviously be alleviated by mechaniza-
tion. In Mérida, rumors circulate to the effect that the invention
of a workable machine for weaving hammocks is imminent, that someone
has brought in Japanese technicians to invent it, or has already
invented it but is keeping it a secret. Clearly, the development
of a machine which could duplicate the knotless netting technique
used in the Yucatecan hammock would solve certain problems of qual-
ity control and production delays which plague the industry.

Until such a machine is available, however, the organization
of workers into workshops is not profitable. Mexico has labor laws
which require that employers pay minimum wages, observe minimum-age
requirements, and make social security contributions covering their
workers. As long as production is restricted to the putting-out

system and the wages paid are piece-rate, none of these laws apply.

246

This sort of legislation both inhibits the rationalization of the
industry and serves to avoid the worst abuses of the sweatshops
which were a part of the industrial revolution in England.

Perhaps the most significant differences between the Euro-
pean and Yucatecan cases, however, have to do with the larger his-
torical context in which these events are occurring. In England,
the putting-out system was a transitory stage integrally linked to
the accumulation of capital and the shift from simple commodity
production to industrial capitalism. The industries involved played
extremely important roles in the transformation of English society
and were the cutting edge of capitalist expansion, closely linked
with a system of economic imperialism.

Like their eighteenth and nineteenth century counterparts
in England, the merchants controlling craft production in Mexico are
dependent on foreign markets. However, English exports of cloth
and metal goods constituted a large part of Britain's foreign trade,
which was one of the most effective instruments of British imperial
design and a cornerstone of British capitalism. Captive markets
throughout the Empire provided the incentive to manufacturers to
make ever larger investments in plant and machinery. To argue that
handicrafts play a similar role in the Mexican context would obviously
be absurd. Mexico has no captive markets except within its own
borders. Its craft exports are not articles of necessity or pro-
ductive utility, but of novelty and luxury. They playaNiimportant
but still minor role in the national economy as a whole compared

with agricultural and raw materials exports.

247

In Yucatan (and in Mexico generally) capitalist development
has been in large part a derivative process, conforming to the pat-
tern of dependent capitalism evident in other parts of the Third
World (Frank, 1972; Fernandes, 1973). This has had significant
consequences for the economy and class structure of the region, and
creates a situation in which private accumulation and investment of
capital occur in a relatively restricted sphere. Unfortunately,
historical studies of economic development and the formation of
classes in nineteenth and twentieth century Yucatan are inadequate
to a full understanding of this problem, but the interpretation
presented here attempts to identify the major outlines of this pro-
cess.

The early years after Independence were characterized by
a flurry of entrepreneurial activity in Yucatan (Cline, 1947). Much
of the investment went into commercial agriculture, particularly
sugar, but a number of industrial enterprises were also launched,
such as the textile factory described in Chapter 2. However, the
competition of cheap British manufactures was already undercutting
industrial development in the newly independent states of Latin
America. After the Caste War and the collapse of the sugar indus-
try, investment in Yucatan shifted to henequen cultivation. With
the invention of the McCormick reaper, North American finance capital
contributed to the expansion of henequen production (Raymond, 1971).

The owners of the henequen haciendas were a capitalist class
in the sense of being investors in large-scale commercial agriculture,

oriented toward the world market. However, this regional bourgeoisie

248

was largely descended from the colonial landed aristocarcy and main-
tained some of its feudal characteristics. Internally, the relations
of production on the henequen hacienda were those of master and
slave.

In Yucatan, persistence of slavery in the form of debt
servitude existed alongside capitalist development and was in fact
necessary to it, since otherwise no adequate supply of labor could
have been found to absorb the capital and provide the raw materials
required by the development of capitalism in the United States. Thus,
a ”pre-capitalist” mode of production, far from being an obstacle to
the spread of capitalism, was essential to it in this period of
securing access to raw materials. But debt servitude, which was at
first necessary to the accumulation of capital in commercial agri-
culture, was at a later stage a factor inhibiting the growth of
capitalism in its commercial and industrial forms, by inhibiting the
growth of an internal market and the growth of a free labor force.

In Yucatan, however, change came not as a result of internal
struggle, but from above. There was no significant opposition of
the rising bourgeoisie against the landed oligarchy; rather the
latter had transformed itself into the former, and vice versa. In
the words of Florestan Fernandes, ”e1 arist6crata se aburguesa y el
burgués se aristocratiza” (1973:220). Indeed, the integration of
rising merchants into the landed oligarchy, and the investment of
wealth from landed property in commerce, were processes which had

been going on since the early colonial period (Hunt, 1974). The

249

landed oligarchy and the bourgeoisie were not only allied; they
became the same group.

Since this bourgeoisie was not formed in opposition to a
landed aristocracy, the persistence of traditional aristocratic
patterns was favored, resulting in paternalism, noblesse oblige,
and caste-like relationships between ethnic groups. Their landed
interests and their dependent position vis-a-vis foreign capital
made it impossible for this bourgeoisie to carry out the freeing
of labor necessary to continued development.

Meanwhile, some internal differentiation of the peasantry
into landless, semi-landless, and petty bourgeois strata was occur-
ring in the villages, but was overshadowed by the wholesale enslave-
ment of the rural Mayan and mestizo population on the haciendas.
The nature of class relationships and dependent capitalism existing
in Yucatan at the time of the Revolution required that the state
take an active role in the further development of the economy. The
liberation of the peons in 1915 and the subsequent agrarian reforms
of the twenties and thirties occurred largely by fiat, emanating
from power-holders at the State and national levels rather than by
revolution from below.

The period between 1912 and the large-scale redistribution
of lands in 1937 was characterized by intense struggle among the
hacendados, State power-holders, and the federal government for
control of the henequen industry (Raymond, 1971:59-66). Finally,
the rapid and extensive redistribution of lands in 1937 provided the

basis for the growth of state capitalism in Yucatan. From 1938 to

250

1955 Henequeneros de Yucatan, organized by the State government,
controlled the marketing of all fiber produced by the ejidos and
by the private estates. In addition, they directly organized the
production of all the henequen ejidos through an administrative
hierarchy.
During its sixteen years existence Henequeneros directed the
work of approximately 50,000 workers, cultivated seventy-
five per cent of the land committed to the production of
henequen, and produced seventy per cent of the total amount
of fiber (Raymond, 1971:142-43).

Although much of the land of the private estates had been
expropriated, the hacendados were able to retain the decorticating
plants. This gave the private owners control over an essential
phase of production and allowed them to retain a large part of their
control over the industry. During the period of Henequeneros con-
trol, the owners of the decorticating plants received half of all
the fiber which they processed for the ejidos.

Henequeneros de Yucatan appears to have been largely con-
trolled by representatives of the hacendados, who used it in their
own interests. It was finally dissolved in 1955 by the federal
government after waves of scandal about corruption and graft within
the organization (Raymond, 1971:143-46). The Agrarian Bank then
came to control the production and marketing of the ejidos while
the private owners organized themselves separately. It was at this
point that a significant shift in power from the State to the national

level began, with the appointment of Agrarian Bank officials directly

from Mexico City.

251

Meanwhile, the Yucatecan bourgeoisie had been investing in
the development of an indigenous cordage industry, the only sig-
nificant industrialization to take place in Yucatan. By 1944 the
local cordage mills were consuming 33 percent of the fiber, and by
the early sixties, more than 80 percent (Raymond, 1971:71). The
finished product, however, was still exported overwhelmingly to the
United States.

Over-production and competition brought a number of these
mills to the brink of bankruptcy by 1961. The result was reorgani-
zation of the mills under a government-controlled corporation,
Cordemex, in 1965. This federal bail-out of the cordage industry
resulted in the owners being compensated approximately double the
worth of their properties upon nationalization, with the bill being
footed by the ejidatarios (Menendez Rodriguez, 1964).

The result today is a very high degree of direct federal
control over the State's leading industry, in both its agricultural
and manufacturing aspects. In response, the regional bourgeoisie
has shifted its capital to such fields as tourism (now the State's
second most important source of income), cattle ranching, and commerce.
Investment in industry has remained low, reflecting the domination
of national and multinational corporations over the provision of
consumer goods, and the satellite position of Yucatan vis-a-vis
Mexico City and the United States. An unknown part of the capital
potentially available for local investment is siphoned off in the
form of insurance against political events. The local bourgeoisie

puts part of its money in Chase Manhattan Bank, First National City

252

Bank, or Swiss gold. Economic and political instability and the
heavy intervention of the Mexican government in the economy are given
as reasons for doing this.

These aspects of dependent capitalism retard the internal
development of the forces of production, result in the super-
exploitation of workers, and inhibit the growth of the internal
market. The result is to slow down the development of industrial
capitalism stimulated from within, and to replace it by forms dic-
tated from without--forms which depend on the nature of the surplus-
product of the developed countries (e.g., Pepsi Cola bottling plants).

This complex of conditions has served to inhibit the growth
of an independent bourgeoisie in Yucatan, and the ”truly revolu-
tionary way” envisioned by Marx, the transformation of the small
producers into industrial capitalists, has occurred only to a very
limited degree (e.g., as with the shoe industry in Ticul). In the
hammock industry, merchant capital has retained control of the
industry and has taken the first steps toward transforming itself
into industrial capital with the construction of the two factories
for producing hammock materials. A similar process is occurring in
the launching of small garment industries such as shirt factories
by merchant capitalists. Significantly, this limited transition
from commerce to industry in Mérida today appears to be occurring
largely at the initiative of Lebanese businessmen and other nouveau

riche elements. The position of these nouveaux riches in relation-

 

ship to the traditional bourgeoisie and the extent to which their

rise has created changes in the regional class structure during the

253

past 40 years is a subject requiring much more extensive study. At
this point it can only be suggested that, while not free of the
restrictions imposed on local capital in general by its dependent
status, they have been more energetic and astute in taking advantage
of those opportunities which exist in the interstices between state
capitalism and the domination of the multinational corporations.

The nature of capitalist development in Yucatan is also
affected by the new restrictions on land and labor created by the
agrarian reform program. The distribution of ejido lands in quanti-
ties insufficient to support the population has tended to maintain
rural communities as pockets of cheap labor, tied to the land not
by debt servitude, but by their reluctance to give up ejido rights
for an insecure urban existence. Lenin found a similar process at
work in Russia:

. . . the tying of the peasant to his allotment ... . arti-
ficially enlarges the sphere of application of capitalist
home-work, artificially binds the peasant to these worst forms
of exploitation. Obsolete institutions and an agrarian system
that isthoroughLysaturated with the social-estate principle
thus exert a most pernicious influence in both agriculture and
industry, perpetuating technically backward forms of produc-
tion which go hand in hand with the greatest development of
bondage and personal dependence, with the hardest lot and the
most helpless position of the working people (1964:446).

In Mexico, industrialization occurs, but with the advanced
technology acquired from the developed nations. The high produc-
tivity of labor under these conditions is such that only a small
proportion of the available work force need be employed, while the
rest are kept down on the farm.

In Yucatan, the complex of developments described above

creates pr0pitious conditions for the emergence of industries such

254

as hammock-weaving and huipil-embroidery organized under the putting-
out system. The entrepreneur need only seek out the most disad-
vantaged groups among the rural population to find the cheap labor
needed. Initially this occurred among the rural proletariat of the
henequen zone. With the expansion of the highway system in recent
years communities in the maize zone have increasingly been drawn into
this process. These communities have not experienced proletariani-
zation to the same degree as those in the henequen zone. Although
sugar haciendas were important in the region near Teabo in the past
there are very few haciendas of any kind in the area today. However,
a process of differentiation among the peasantry has been occurring
for some time and ease of access to land is diminishing with popula-
tion growth and a new wave of investment in cattle ranching and
fruit-growing by prosperous peasants and the Mérida bourgeoisie. It
can be safely predicted that the region will continue to provide an
abundance of cheap rural labor in the foreseeable future.

Given these considerations, the major problem facing the
hammock industry and other Mexican handicraft industries dependent
to a large extent on the tourist market is their vulnerability to
economic crises in the developed countries. Unlike the English
merchants of the nineteenth century, Mexican entrepreneurs cannot
take advantage of a system of imperialist relations which can assure
them of foreign markets. Faddish changes in the popularity of
products and styles is an additional factor inhibiting the develop-
ment of mechanization and factory production, which would tie up

capital in permanent plant.

255

In summary, developments in the hammock industry and others
like it have a number of parallels with earlier phases of economic
development in the industrialized countries, but with some very
significant differences. They represent a process of capitalist
development of a particular kind, dependent capitalism or the
“development of underdevelopment" (Frank, 1969). To date, they bear
only a weak relationship to the development of the forces of pro-
duction or to the development of the internal market, and are
associated with the impoverishment of the direct producers. At the
present historical moment, they present few possibilities of par-
ticipating in a dynamic process of development that would benefit

the rural Mexican population in general.

256

Footnotes--Chapter 6

lProvisionally, the scheme proposed by Lenin for Russia
might serve for classification and analysis of the various processes
involved in the increasing control by middlemen in Mexican handi-
crafts:

The first and simplest form is the purchase of wares by the
merchant (or owner of a big workshop) from the small commodity
producers. . . . The buyer-up takes advantage of his monopoly
position to force the price he pays to the producer down to
rock bottom. The second form of merchant's capital consists
in its combination with usury: the peasant, who is constantly
in need of money, borrows it from the buyer-up and repays the
debt with goods. . . . The third form . . . is payment for
wares with goods . . . typical not only of the small indus-
tries but of absolutely all undeveloped stages of commodity
production and capitalism. . . . The fourth form . . . is pay-
ment by the merchant with the particular kinds of goods that
are needed by the handicraftsman for production. . . . Having
cut off the small industrialist from the finished-goods market,
the buyer-up now cuts him off from the raw-materials market,
and thereby brings him completely under his sway. It is only
one step from this form to that higher form of merchant's
capital under which the buyer-up directly hands out materials
to the handicraftsmen to be worked up for a definite payment.
The handicraftsman becomes de facto a wage-worker, working at
home for the capitalist; the merchant's capital of the buyer-
up is here transformed into industrial capital (1964:367-69).

APPENDIX

VALUES 0F VARIABLES TESTED FOR SELECTED

MUNICIPIOS IN YUCATAN

257

VALUES OF VARIABLES TESTED FOR SELECTED MUNICIPIOS IN YUCATAN

A 8 C D t r 0 n I J

 

 

1. Communities In which participation in craft production is insignificant; only a '°V individuals Involved:

0ACA I 4.235 33.65 8.98 78 3S |0|0.| 385.0 88|.77 9 79
CONKAL I 4,075 70.89 20.31 82 60 685.6 422.2 4|5.72 3 38
(MAN ROM 2 2,771 20.09 ||.29 56 60 0.0 6|7.5 0.0 208 22
CMICXULUI I 2,|45 |0.9o 2.|9 76 72 828.5 2|) 9 954 99 I 43
IXIL I |.S94 ||.88 1.66 69 64 825 9 575.0 |9|9 93 2 Is
Rococna I I,923 33.45 |5.50 8| 80 945.| 420.0 I563.83 0 97
SUCILA 2 2.588 lo 08 |.|3 80 64 0.0 885.0 0.0 |80 83
TEKANTO I 3.528 74.67 8.75 55 23 763.6 505.0 606 80 5 4|
TELCHAC PUEBLO I 3,7I3 45.42 20.I2 82 8| |67.7 489.2 2830.48 0.0

TIZIMIN 2 35.647 8.63 29.89 66 77 0.0 I0|7.5 0.0 359 IS
uavna 2 |.557 7.9I 6.35 45 30 497.6 697.5 3.76 I78 83
2. Communities in which participation in craft production is moderately important:

AOALA I 4,|48 I3.76 I4 |8 65 40 595.4 953.4 684 |6 33 59
soxoat I |,530 3|.52 20.76 6| I6 804.2 607.5 527.93 73 82
CHEHAX 2 ||_0|7 |0 I7 I6 52 46 37 0.0 882.5 0 0 |08 04
CHICnInILA 2 3,269 9.|2 -I7 35 45 40 0.0 696 5 0 0 24I 59
0244 2 |,947 3|.76 28.5| 69 35 0.0 720.0 0.0 5| 48
02|024utuu I 7.658 38.22 4| 43 67 34 649.4 575 0 I37 57 0.57
nocvun I 5,I85 4| 84 29.82 62 23 708.7 640.0 393.20 4.99
xenon I 4,050 2| 04 I8.72 59 55 767.9 452.5 648 35 9.47
MUHI I 3,807 |9.87 26.35 65 33 683.9 637.5 385.72 12.46
nAnA 2 |,482 |2.6| -35.26 67 9 0.0 660.0 0.0 36.44
HOTUL I 20,994 70.54 23.7| 74 6o 9|3.8 3|9 4 1245 77 3.27
MONA 2 6.0|2 22.20 22.64 8| 6o 64|.7 770.0 59.46 59 75
op|cn£u 2 2.558 9.54 I7 72 54 46 7|9 0 |095.0 |03.25 9|.6I
TECOM | 9.325 20.62 22.7| 62 48 688.8 657.5 547.59 10 41
TIXCACALCUPUL 2 2,430 3.38 - 2.4| 57 64 0.0 685.0 0 0 255 83
TIXPEUAL I 3,||0 45 09 20.96 79 84 933.| 560.0 472.86 I43 46
YAXKUKUL | |.466 33.76 |6 I6 76 56 54|.3 345.0 174.73 3 98

3. Communities in which participation in craft production is very important; evidence of one or more local craft specialties which are
marketed extra-locally, one-third or more of the hOuseholds probably participating in craft production:

 

ACANCEH I 6.977 45.52 24.17 70 52 550.3 690.0 401.79 14.12
CACALCHEN | 4,256 55.53 23.|5 66 16 633.6 7|2.5 250.|0 8.72
cHunszt 2 |.238 26 92 3.5| 50 8 0.0 522.5 0.0 70.65
RALACHO I 8.236 12.26 8.15 58 25 419.2 777.0 50.59 19.72
HOCOBA | 4,259 52 |o 30.28 65 34 696.2 7|5.o 317.84 14.91
nuauan | 10,222 |7.06 25 25 68 55 596.2 460.0 280.97 |.03
IZAHAL 1 15.926 57.52 19.23 66 31 799.5 740 0 351.00 11.40
MAN! 2 2,598 30.35 15.36 57 14 0.0 670.0 0 0 86.86
HAXCANU I 10.560 8.00 20.12 64 27 877 9 847.5 318 40 15.66
HAYAPAN 2 I 004 9.70 - 0.40 36 |5 0.0 545 o 0 0 I96 7|
SOTulA 2 5.677 9.26 14.06 79 36 703.7 720.0 I 97 295 O7
YEABO 2 2.666 |0.|8 10.39 58 19 620.7 647.0 5 53 |58 |2
TEKAX 2 16,463 5.99 31.96 67 65 0.0 867.5 0.0 523 79
TEKIT I 3,918 17.83 17.48 56 23 786.7 758.0 243.41 25 00
TEKOH 2 1,631 8.08 -23.89 61 26 0.0 662.5 0.0 453 43
TICUL 2 16.530 46.55 30 52 73 64 782.7 780.0 25.59 10 81
TIXKOKOB I 9.035 56.59 21.42 81 60 837.1 442.9 591.10 0 41
KEY: A I Zone: I I henequen (one; 2 I maize zone.

B I Total population. 1970 tenSus.

C I Population density. persons per square kiloneter, I970 cenSus.

0 I Percent increase or decrease in population. 1960 to 1970.

E I Percent literate of the population 10 years and Over, 1970 cenSus.

F I Percent reporting inconcs of 200 pesos or more monthly. 0' the economically active population 12 years and Over

declaring incomes. I970 cenSus.

G I Average annual yield per hectare of heanucn, in kilograms. 1957'1970.

H I Average annual yield per hectare of naizc. in kilograms. I96I-1970.

I I Average annual per capita value of henequen production. in pesos, |967-1970.

J I Average annual per capita value of maize production. in pesos, 1967-1970.

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Rural Mexico. Chicago: U. of Chicago Press.
Guatemala: The Land and the People. New Haven:
Yale University Press.

Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf.

: n... A.» m

GLOSSARY

 

1a.!

GLOSSARY

bastidor--loom used for making hammocks.
cabecera--county seat.
cacique--chief or political leader of an Indian community.

caja--box; in the hammock industry, a measure of the quantity of
cord contained in a hammock (six tubes equals one box).

campesino--peasant or farmer.

 

cantina--bar or tavern

catrin (masc.), catrina (fem.)--one who has changed from the tra-
ditional folk costume to European-style dress.

comadre (fem.), compadre (masc.)--reciprocal fictive kin terms used
between a child's parents and godparents.

compadrazgo--a system of fictive kinship created through the choice
of godparents as sponsors for various ritual occasions.

cuarta--traditional Spanish unit of measure equal to a handspan;
about 20 centimeters.

ejidatario--one who has land rights in an ejido.

ejido--Iand grants made to communities by the Mexican government
under the post-Revolutionary land reform program. Ejido
lands are communally owned, and in the henequen-growing
region of Yucatan, collectively operated.

encomendero--holder of an encomienda grant.

encomienda--the right to collect tribute from an Indian community,
granted to individual Spaniards by the Crown during the
early colonial era.

fagina--1abor levy traditionally used for public works in Yucatecan

villages. On the pre-Revolutionary henequen plantations,
unpaid labor exacted from the resident peons.

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gente de vestido--in Yucatan, refers to people of European dress
and Hispanic culture.

grupo econ6mico--an ejido work group operating as a sub-section of
a local ejido credit society.

grupo solidario--en ejido work group operating independently of
the local credit society under arrangements with the Agrarian
Bank.

hacienda--a large agricultural estate.

hamaquera--a woman who works for middlemen distributing materials
for making hammocks to the weavers.

hetzmek--a traditional Mayan ceremony in which the infant is for the
first time carried astride the hip. Performed at three months
for a girl and four months for a boy, a godparent chosen
for the occasion places in the infant's hands articles which
symbolize skills and abilities suitable to an adult of its
sex. The ritual is presumed to have the effect of encouraging
the sound development of these skills.

hilera--fine cotton cord used for making hammocks.

hilo de madeja--relatively inexpensive cotton cord sold in skeins
and used for making hammocks.

huipil--a long, sack-like, white dress embroidered at the hem and
neckline in floral or cross-stitch patterns, worn as part
of the traditional women's folk costume in Yucatan.

madeja--skein.
malla--stitch.

manta--pieces of cotton cloth woven by Indian women and constitut-
ing part of the tribute exacted under the encomienda system.
Each manta consisted of four piernas measuring three cuartas
(handspans) in width and four varas (yards) in length.

mecate--an area 20 meters square. One hectare equals 25 mecates.

mestizo--in Mexico, a person of mixed Indian and European descent.
While elsewhere in Mexico mestizos are largely Hispanic in
culture, speaking Spanish and wearing European dress, in
Yucatan mestizos speak Maya as a first language and wear
the traditional folk costume.

metate--grinding stone.

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metatero--one who makes metates.

milpa--a field, usually cultivated by traditional hand methods, in
which the indigenous crops of maize, beans, and squash are
grown.

milpero--one who cultivates a milpa.

municipio--territorial unit similar to a county.

novena--nine consecutive nights of prayer in honor of a Catholic
saint.

panucho--traditional Yucatecan dish consisting of a filled tortilla
with a variety of toppings.

peones acasillados--resident workers on the haciendas.

peones eventuales--non-resident workers or day laborers on the
haciendas.

pueblo--sma11 town or village.

repartimiento--in colonial Yucatan, a form of forced trade whereby
Indians made cotton cloth to pay off goods advanced them.

rezadora--prayer-1eader.
terrenos baldios--unoccupied or unclaimed public lands.
ventero ambulante--itinerant peddler.

vuelta--in hammock weaving, each turn around the loom.

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