('1 /
7‘ ABSTRACT

BEYOND POVERTY: A STUDY OF BEGGING
IN A MEXICAN CITY

By

Sonia Ruiz Pérez

This dissertation was designed as an extension of Horacio
Fabrega's preliminary research in San Cristobal (1971). His findings
. suggested the need to explore further the ethnography of begging, ask
relevant questions and propose methods for the study of urban under—
privileged classes.

The focus of our study is upon professional beggars, defined
as individuals who have made regular begging their main source of
livelihood. The setting of our research was San Cristobal Las Casas,
Chiapas; it is what Sjoeberg (1965:2l6) defines as a preindustrial
city. The city's functions as a governmental and religious center
had already been disrupted at the end of the 19th century, when the
seat of political power moved in a nearby rival center, yet it remains
important as a commercial center. Thus San Cristobal continues being
the classical example of Aguirre Beltran's (l967) Ciudad Dominical,
i.e., center of dominance for a hinterland region. Also, the city can

1

Sonia Ruiz Pérez

be described as a large market place; there is no fixed market day in
San Cristobal, so the hinterland population moves back and forth regu-
larly. The beggars can be visualized as parasites attached to this
market.

The begging pOpulation was observed, photographed, and inter-
viewed, so that we obtained data on 76 beggars (56 male and 24 female).
Case stories were gathered from a representative sample of beggars for
each subtype identified, i.e., Indian male, handicapped; Ladino female,
elderly; Ladino male, alcoholic, etc. Information on attitudes toward
begging was obtained through a survey of 152 city residents, represent-
ing a stratified sample of San Cristfibal population. Observation of
the territorial aspects of begging was carried out with the aid of
naps, photographs, and an almost daily tracing of beggars along their
routes. Information provided by beggars and donors on the use of the
city space completed our data collection.

Beggars and donors providedtheir own perceptions of begging
and its legitimacy within San Cristobal. Both beggars' and donors'
perception of charity and the right to beg ascribed a maximum right to
beg to the elderly and the physically handicapped. Nevertheless, this
did not exclude the able-bodied of the population from being granted

alms; the able-bodied formed 43 percent of the total sample.

Sonia Ruiz Pérez

Most beggars were found to be migrants to town, looking for
economic conditions better than in the hinterland. Some of them moved
into the city expecting a better availability of alms. Once in the
city, beggars tended to concentrate in the areas where they were likely
to find available cash or food.

On certain days of the week beggar activity was more noticeable;
particularly on Saturday, which is considered a "good day" by beggars.
On such days the main areas of concentration for beggars were the plaza,
the market, and the bus stop.l On other days, beggars spread themselves
all over the city in a more or less established routine. Donors rein-
forced this routine by saving food or the appropriate tostones (twenty
centavos coins) for the moment when the beggars came. This custom gave
beggars the security of a somewhat predictable income or food. Even
though the donor could not always identify the beggar by name, he could
do so by some other traits, so that the relationship between beggar and
donor was reminiscent of personal acquaintance. It could be said

indeed that in San Cristobal every man had his own poor to provide for.

BEYOND POVERTY: A STUDY OF BEGGING
IN A MEXICAN CITY

BY

Sonia Ruiz Pérez

A DISSERTATION

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

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Anthropology

1974

@Copyright by
scum nun PEREZ
1974

ii

Two Beggars

 

To
Andrea

and

Mauricio .

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation was made possible through the assistance
of Dr. Horacio Fabrega, with his knowledge in the field and interest
in the problem. He provided crucial help in obtaining economic
assistance and also with the design and interpretation of findings.
I am particularly thankful for his willingness to share his assis-
tant Betty (at a time when he needed her very much) who helped me in
the identification and preliminary contacts with the beggars.

I am indebted to Dr. Stanley Brandes and Dr. Iwao Ishino
for their comments and suggestions to bring this dissertation to
its final form. I am especially indebted to Dr. Scott Cook and
Dr. 80 Anderson for their constant encouragements and trust. Thanks
to Barbara Beebe for her time and dedication in editing my first
draft and to Bissy Genova for the days and nights spent editing this
dissertation.

Last but not least, I must thankfully acknowledge the help
of my Puerto Rican family and their care for my children during my
absence in the field. I

The fieldwork was funded by the Society for Psychological
Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), the Latin American Studies Center
at HSU, and also a travel grant from the Department of Anthropology
at MSU. In the field, I had the assistance of Betty,.Filiberto, and
Fernando. The friendship of don Humberto Zebadua and his family was
of great help, along with his knowledge of San Cristobal, its history
and its people.

To them all, many thanks.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

LIST OF

FIGURES .........................

LIST OF APPENDICES ........................

INTRODUCTION. ..........................

Chapter
I.

The Research Problem ...................

Organization of This Work ................

INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS ..................
What is Poverty? .....................
Who is a Beggar? Historical Review of Begging ......
Begging as Discussed in the Social Sciences Literature. .
Theories on Begging . . .................
Causes for Begging ....................

Reasons for Giving ....................

vii

Page

xi

xii

l
l

10

13
13
21
29
33
35
4O

TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.)

Chapter
II.

III.

IV.

Page

SAN CRISTOBAL. CIUDAD REAL EN LOS ALTOS DE CHIAPAS. . . . 43

The City. . . . . .................... 43
The "Coletos" ...................... 62
The Indians . . . .................... 75
Where Ladino and Indian Worlds Meet. . . . . ...... 78
THE BEGGARS OF SAN CRISTOBAL ............... 84
The Sample ........................ 84
Able-Bodied Beggars ................... 85
The Alcoholic Beggars ................ 86
Los Mendigos Vergonzantes .............. 89
The Load Carriers .................. 9l
Handicapped Beggars ................... 99
The Elderly ..................... lOZ
The Physically Handicapped .............. l05
The Ill . . . . . . . . . .............. ill
The Occasional Beggar .................. llS
THE BEGGAR'S TRADE .................... ll7
The Daily Routine .................... ll7
The Beggar's Use of the City Space ............ l22

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.)

Chapter Page
V. THE CITY AND THE BEGGARS ................. l35

Do Givers Know to Whom They Give Their Alms? ....... l36

Why Do People Give Alms in San Cristobal? ........ l38

Who Deserves More Pity? ................. lél

To Whom and What Do People Give? ............. l43

Who Does Not Give? .................... l47

What Can People Do to Curb Begging? ........... T48
CONCLUSION ............................ lSO
APPENDICES ............................ l54
NOTES .............................. l62
REFERENCES ............................ 169

ix

Table

LIST OF TABLES

Beggars' Posadas and Other Sleeping Quarters ........
Causes of Begging Proposed by Previous Literature .....
Traditional Job Differentiation by Barrios .........

Distribution of the Sample by Age and Physical Handicap . .

Page

39
51

103

Figure

LIST OF FIGURES

Map of Chiapas ......................
Plan of San Cristobal ...................
"The East Arcade gives shelter to a variety of vendors"u .
"The human landscape around the cantina" ..... . . . .
Able-Bodied Beggars ....................
Handicapped Beggars ....................
"He approaches them one by one and stretches his hand" . .
Distribution of Beggars in the City Plan ....... . .

Areas of Beggars' Concentration on Saturday ....... .

xi

Page
42
46
57
96

lOl
ll4
120
124

126

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page
I. BASIC QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BEGGARS ............. l54

II. CASE STUDIES RECORD ................... l56
III. QUESTIONNAIRE TO NON-BEGGARS ............... 158

xii

INTRODUCTION

The Research Problem

An occupational activity, as any other activity, is the sub-
ject of change and evolution. Such occupational change is in itself
a consequence of an overall process of change in the society where it
is performed. For example, change can be observed as spatial dis-
placement within the city: first, from the nodal points of economic
activity to the marginal1 areas, then later on to the suburban and
rural areas. Thus, a job or trade may undergo such displacement as
a consequence of the increasing technological demands of the society;
then it is pushed out of the most urbanized portions to the semi- or
non-urbanized areas of the city. When economic development reaches
the latter, marginal areas, the trade in question tends to gradually
move away or disappear, as the demand for its products attenuates.

In other words, trades that are not adaptive to the new society's
needs will decline in scope, or change in form.

Urban life in Latin America provides several examples of jobs
that had formerly been economically important; then, at the end of
Colonial times, they were gradually pushed out of the urban centers

1

as a result of the transformations brought about by the Industrial
Revolution; water-carriers and candle vendors are cases in point.

As a trade, begging has been traced to "the emergency of
private property“ (Gillin l9Slz493). Early accounts of begging behav-
ior (Thomas l932),2 as well as recent observations of modern beggars,
indicate the extreme persistence of this trade in terms of form and
content. Why has a trade commonly defined as a "trade of shame"
(Fuller l936:23) proven to be so adaptive a kind of economic life,
still existing in most societies?

We may advance the following working hypothesis: if a whole
category of individuals can base their economy on the receiving of
alms, then there must be another category of individuals willing to
give those alms on a regular basis.

To give is somehow a symbol of power. In the giving-
receiving transaction, the giver is exercising his dominance upon
the receiver. In these situations almsgiving belongs to the category
of overwhelming benefits, where "the recurrent unilateral supply of
benefits that meet important needs make others obligated to and
dependent on those who furnish them and thus subject to their power"
(Blau l964zl12).

Nevertheless, strictly speaking the beggar provides the

vehicle for reinforcement of the dominance. In a stratified society

the beggar's function seems to be one of maintaining the assymetry
on a societal level. On an interpersonal level, the relationship
between donor and beggar would be more reciprocal and independent of
the absolute value exchanged than on a pure transactional level.

"Individuals who do favors for others expect a return, at the
very least in the form of expression of gratitude an appreciation,
just as merchants expect repayment for economic services" (Blau 1964:.
3l4). At such grounds the almsgiver is receiving back intangibles as
payment for his alms.

Observing the forms of these relationships in a traditional
society (Sjoeberg 1955:1960) would provide an opportunity to see the
nature of begging before early interferences in their daily activities,
and later on absorption, by State-associated institutions.

San Cristobal Las Casas was selected as the site for this
research for two reasons. First, Fabrega's previous exploration in
the area had already supplied basic data on the begging population.
Second, there is abundant information on this city, as a regional
center showing definite characteristics of an economic organization
preserving its traditional colonial structure.

San Cristobal is a preindustrial city (Sjoeberg l965z2l6)
where the traditional "sacred" order has been maintained despite

national trends of rapid modernization and industrialization. Thus,

it has been caught in the middle of "contradictory structures" and
"contradictory functional requirements? (Sjoeberg l960:l92—208).

A certain degree of disruption in the traditional pattern can
be observed in the ecology of the city, as modern sectors interfere
with the traditional order. In terms of interpersonal relations, we
may expect contractual, formal relationships to overlap with the old
familistic, informal ones. In the city, as in the surrounding pre-
dominantly Indian areas, the relationships between Ladinos and Indians
adhere tenaciously to the traditional domination-subordination pattern.
In the majority of hinterland towns, the Ladino combines the agri-
cultural activities proper to the region with miscellaneous commerce,
in which income is directly related to the indebtedness of the Indians.
This pattern is transferred to the city, which is fundamentally
Ladino. Dominance-subordination continues to be the style of rela-
tionships between Ladinos and Indians. A few newcomers, including
the young hierarchy of the church, try to introduce and incorporate
a more contractual style without much success.

San Cristobal has only one industry that can be formally
described as such. The textile industry attracts workers not only
from the hinterland but also unemployed labor from the closest larger
city. The rapid population growth of the marginal areas suggests that

we are at the beginning of their formation as marginal belts,

characteristic of Latin America's largest centers. Barrios like
La Garita and some of the Colonies (see page 48) are examples of this
trend .

Most beggars are in a different position compared to the
majority of the residents in the marginal barrios. Through the insti-
tution of posadas (see page 77) they are able to attach themselves
to the stable barrios which form the core of the city. Other under-
classed individuals, juggia_(grass) sellers for example, would never
be able to achieve such spatial mobility. First, the elementary re-
quirements of their trade would obligate them to stay where the raw
material is likely to grow. Second, there is no element of pity
moving a possible patron to offer shelter to an individual seller.

If they receive shelter, it would be on equal basis with the host,
himself a peripheral dweller.

Most beggars come from outside San Cristobal. Their places
of origin are mostly within 30 Km (l8.6 miles) from the city. Only
two beggars came from places farther than 85 Km (52.8 miles). A

Many of them sleep out of town. The beggar's posadas and
other sleeping quarters are located mostly in five out of the seven
barrios considered to be the nucleus of the city (Table No. 1).

El Centro is not a predominantly residential area, and there-

fore it is not used as living headquarters by beggars. Thus the night

Table 1.--Beggars' Posadas and Other Sleeping Quarters.

 

 

 

 

Total Indian Ladino
39 18 21 Out of town
8 3 5 Periphery
___________________________ 1_______

28 Barrio Nucleo

O . ....... O . ...... 1

4. ....... 1...? ...... 2

6 . ....... 2 . ...... 3

2 . ....... 4 . ...... 5

O . ....... 1 . ...... 6

O . ....... O . ...... 7

 

—_—_—_—

 

 

 

No information

 

profile of the city presents three major empty sectors: El Centro,
The Market and The Bus Stop, the latter two obviously due to their
specific function and schedule. During the day these three sectors,
as working territories for beggars as well as non-beggars, become
crowded.

As a rural society begins to urbanize, a series of parallel
phenomena arise as social by-products of this transformation. One of
the socioeconomic results of growing urbanization and the demands of
the new labor market is a progressively increasing migration away
from the rural areas. Migrants are not only members of "the latent
relative surplus-population" but “even employed laborers" (Marx 1893:
316) attracted by the new economic activities. As the city becomes
increasingly industrialized, migration ceases being an individual
event and turns into a massive phenomenon.

Not all individuals coming to the city find a place within
the existing or growing socioeconomic structures; consequently, a
new group of declassed human beings begins forming. These are males
and females who, having lost the security of their positions back in
their own communities, now wonder around the city without a stable
job or residence.

Later on, suburban belts begin turning into slums in order to

accommodate these declassed people. The inhabitants are often jobless

and most of the time have severed their ties with their extended
families; alone, or with their nuclear families, they now become the
basis of an urban sub-proletariat, the lumpen whose life expectations
are geared to a minimal subsistence level. There is only one place
for them within the stratification of the urban society: as an under-
class of outcasts whose services are nevertheless essential

(Sjoeberg 1965:217).

As this process of subproletariazation belongs by definition
to societies either in the process of industrialization or recently
industrialized, it should be possible to observe its inception in a
society like San Cristobal which is just beginning to transform.

Many beggars come to town to beg as their native willages do
not provide an adequate setting for successful begging. People in
those places are "so poor that they can hardly provide for their own
needs," explains a beggar. Thus the city is viewed as the natural
place to go in order to find adequate provision for their material
needs. Some beggars come following the advice of those beggars who
have been successful before them; others have already been in town
before they started begging professionally. In all cases, beggars
seem to be an example of the above mentioned process of detachment
from the old, secure native land in order to come to the city.

Migration to town at any point in their careers cuts their original

roots in the hinterland, without providing an adequate new setting to
structure their lives.

Our attention was directed to the professional beggar. The
occasional beggar, defined as an individual whose main source of
income is other than begging, would not be part of our study.

In general, we may identify two broad categories of profes-
sional beggars, the able—bodied and the handicapped. The first group
is self-defined and includes beggars who can work, but selected to
beg instead. Among handicapped beggars we differentiate two major
groups, the elderly and the physically handicapped. A third category,
the ill, appears sometimes to blend into the above categories, as in
the case of the beggars confined in the asylum or those mentally and
physically disabled.

In terms of their use of time, beggars can be divided into
full-time and part-timers. Among the part-time beggars we find the
alcoholic beggars and the load-carriers.

In terms of their use of the city space, beggars have been
divided into ambulatory and stationary. The ambulatory beggars which
are the majority in San Cristobal, walk all over the city, along more
or less fixed routes reaching the places where alms are to be
received. Sometimes they combine their ambulatory work with brief

periods of rest, still begging, and soon resume their walk. Very

lO

few beggars in San Cristobal are stationary, e.g. those who sit down
in fixed spots and wait for alms to come.

As a social category3 beggars obviously are in constant
interaction with members of other social strata.- How does begging
fit within the broader social context? How is begging behavior
dependent on this context? Following Becker (1950), Sorokin (1941)
and Redfield (1954), we may think in terms of polar types of social
or ideological orientations, namely the traditional-sacred versus the
modern-secular one. Each of these orientations can be inferred from
characteristic types of social relationships and behavior. We can
assume that as we move from the more traditional sectors of the city
to the more modern ones, some detectable changes in the type of
behavior should be evident. Could we then, by observing actual alms-
giving and begging in a traditional Latin American city, define the
basic characteristic of the relationship between the participants

in this interaction? . . . .

Organization of This Work

The first chapter is geared to defining poverty and begging

from a historical point of view; also after a survey of available

11

Social Science literature pertinent to our subject, we attempt to
summarize and classify begging and its causes.

Chapter II introduces the setting for this research. The
city of San Cristobal as studied through key informants, writings of
Sancristobalenses and foreigners who have visited the city through
time, and through participant observation. Attention is paid to the
spatial and human components and their interrelation.

The beggars are introduced in Chapter III, which is based
in my own observation and interviews (see Appendices I and II), with
the help of three assistants: two non-beggars and a former beggar.
My camera helped me to identify the beggars in a very short time,
to build up a visual kardex of the population I was working with,
and to create a role for myself within the city and in relationship
with beggars. The case stories were obtained via several non-
directive interviews and one long directed session to fill in gaps,
whenever possible.

The beggars trade is the subject of Chapter IV. The beggars
were specifically asked about their schedule of work, not only in
terms of time of the day or day of the week but also in terms of their
seasonal routine. Their routes were traced by daily following of
beggars at work; each route was recorded upon the city map which was

my "notebook." Then this information was checked against pertinent

12

answers given by the people of San Cristobal (Appendix III, Part 2,
Questions 1 to 8).

The last chapter of this dissertation deals with the beggars
and their trade, as perceived by the almsgivers. Their opinions and
general attitudes towards begging were recorded through interviews
and a questionnaire. In this manner we expect to introduce the reader
to what begging is in a traditional city, and try to find answers
to some of our questions from an emic point of view.

In order to maintain the anonymity of our informants their
names have been consistently changed; furthermore, all Indians have
been given the surname Chamula and all Ladinos have been given the

last name Ladino.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS

What Is Poverty?

The Indian nana (nursemaid) in "Oficio de Tinieblas“

(Castellanos 1962:29-31), tells a little Ladino girl how men were

created and classified into the categories of rich and poor.4

"In the very beginning," she says, "before the
coming of Santo Domingo de Guzman and San Caralampio
and the Virgin of the Perpetual Assistance, the
Lords of the heavens were only four. Each one was
sitting in his chair, resting, because they had
already made the earth, as we now see it, and filled
its lap with gifts. They had made the sea in front
of which every observer trembles. They had made
the wind to act as the guardian of each thing, but
man was not yet made. Then, one of the four Lords,
the one dressed in yellow, said 'We are going to
make man to let him know us, so that his heart will
burn out of gratitude as an incense grain.‘ The
remaining three men approved by nodding their heads,
and went to look for the molds to do the job.

'What shall we make man of?‘ they asked. The
one dressed in yellow grabbed a pellet of mud and
with his fingers shaped the face and the arms and
the legs. The others watched and expressed their
approval. But, when the little man of mud was
done and put through the water test he fell apart.

'Let's make the man out of wood,‘ said the
one dressed in red. The others agreed. Then the
man dressed in red tore off a tree branch and
marked the features with the point of his knife.

13

14

When that little man of wood was done, he too was
exposed to the water test. He floated and his limbs
did not fall off and his features did not erase.
The four Lords were happy. But, when they exposed
the little wooden man to the fire test he began to
crackle and lose his shape. The four Lords spent
the night brooding, until one, the one dressed in
black said, 'My advise is to make the man out of
gold.‘ He took the gold he used to keep in a knot
of his handkerchief and the four of them modelled a
man. One stretched his nose, the other put in the
teeth, and another one marked the cochlea in the
ear. When the man of gold was finished, they made
him pass the water and fire tests and the man of
gold ended up more beautiful and shiny. Then the
four Lords looked at each other with pleasure-
Then they put the man of gold on the earth and
waited, hoping that he would recognize and praise
them. But the man of gold stayed without blink-
ing, mute. His heart was as the sapota's core,
dry and hard. Then three of the four Lords asked
the one that still had not given his opinion:
'What shall we make the man of?‘

And this Lord, who was not dressed in yellow
or red or black, who had a dress of no color,
said: 'Let's make the man out of flesh,’ and
with his machete, cut off his own left hand fin-
gers. The fingers flew up into the air and fell
to earth. They did not pass either the water
or the fire tests. The four Lords could hardly
see the men of flesh because the distance made
them look small like ants. With the effort they
made in order to see the tiny men their eyes
became irritated, and after rubbing them so
much, they became sleepy. The one dressed in
yellow yawned and his yawn called the mouth
of the three other Lords to open. They began
falling asleep because they were tired and very
old. In the meantime on earth, the men of
flesh were coming and going like ants. They
had learned which fruits could be eaten, with
which leaves one protects oneself against the
rain and which animals didn't bite. One day
they were astonished at the sight of the man

15

of gold before them. His shine hit their eyes and
when they touched him, their hands became very

cold, as if they had touched a snake. They remained.
there, waiting for the man of gold to speak to them.
Dinner time came and the men of flesh gave a mouth-
ful of food to the man of gold. The time to leave
came and the men of flesh left carrying with them
the man of gold. Finally the hardness of

the man of gold's heart cracked until the word of
gratitude the four Lords had instilled rose to his
mouth.

The Lords awakened upon hearing their names .
among the praises. They looked at what had happened
on earth during their sleep, and they approved.. From
that time on, they called the man of gold rich and
the men of flesh poor. They resolved that the rich
should care for the poor in return for the favors
received from the poor. The Lords ordered that the
poor should answer for the rich in front of the
face of the truth. Therefore our law says that no
rich man can enter the heaven if a poor man does
not take him by the hand.

Thus stated, the interdependence between these two polar cate-
gories on the societal continuum--the rich and the poor--is the basis
for the giver-receiver relationship.

When we speak of poverty, we are immediately bound to think
in terms of lack or scarcity of means or choices. We are likely to
find human beings living, or surviving, at different levels of sub-
standard conditions. It still remains to be determined what are
acceptable minimums (Hla Myint 1965:40).

Wherever or among whomever we find poverty, it frequently
coincides with low sanitary standards, no access to, or an inadequate

use of, the sources of education, insufficient or inadequate food and

16

unstable human relationships. Poverty has been idealized. It has
also been degraded, or has been dissected into a number of common
behavioral characteristics shared by those who live in conditions
defined as the "culture of poverty" (Lewis 1966:5-9). In spite of
the interest that poverty as a way of living has aroused in poets,
writers, and anthropologists, among others, we still do not know for
sure where the borderline between the difficult life and mere sur-
vival lays.

To attempt to determine the intermediate levels between
poverty and misery is without doubt a difficult task. This is espe-
cially difficult in a society like the one we shall be studying,
where the minimum needs are truly minimal. External clues for the
outside observers may be little or no footwear and also a few swollen
bellies on the children. But, even when we cannot perceive the exact
borderline, when we contrast the poor along with the miserable, we
find that the first are as deprived as the second and will be compas-
sionate of his fellow creature and even in many cases will offer him
material assistance. In situations of this type it is not necessary
to beg, to actually stretch the hand, to be a beggar. To be a beggar
is not a choice for living but a consequence of living, un devenir.

An observation at the San Cristobal's market may illustrate

the above:

17

It is about two o'clock. Though there are
frightening clouds in the sky, the sun still
shines upon the San Cristobal market. From the
crowd of Indians, sitting or standing by their
merchandise, emerges the dark and tiny shape of
a Chamula woman. She appears to be of indefi-
nite age, perhaps a little over forty.

She crosses the market and her attention is.
caught by the ears of corn put in a pile on the-
ground. She bends over to get a.leaf.. Then .
she walks somewhat insecurely. She moves
straight to the fonda (inn) of Dona Maria. She
addresses the vendor in her native language.

"Do you have rice?", she asks, while handling
the leaf she has just picked up. "Yes,“ ans-
wers Doha Maria and while looking for the serv-
ing spoon, stretches her hand to take the leaf.
Then suddenly the Ladino woman reacts. "How
come? You just picked that leaf from the ground
and now you want to put your food in it?" She
looks for a napkin and puts the rice in it, com-
plaining that her daughter never leaves the
serving spoon in the proper place. She turns
back to the Indian woman and puts the napkin
with the rice on top of the tortillas she is
carrying under her shawl and receives the pg§9_
that seals the transaction. The Chamula woman
leaves, and Doha Maria continues announcing

her inexpensive but good meals. "Are you going
to eat, marchante? Just one peso! I have
dishes for just one peso!" More men and women
come and sit down to eat at the small fonda
while on the market grounds the noisy haggling,
half in Spanish and half in the Indian language,
continues as usual.

 

This is only an example of an everyday occurrence in the San
Cristobal market. It is not unique to this particular setting;

instead it is part of a more extended phenomenon: poverty.

18

Sociologists concerned with the problem in modern society
have arrived to the conclusion that poverty becomes a social cate-
gory only when those who suffer from want are receiving assistance.
The economically deprived living in the welfare society join the
ranks of the poor only after they have become part of the statistics
of the assisting institutions of the State. "They come to belong to
the common category of the poor by virtue of an essentially passive
trait, namely that society reacts to them in a particular manner"
(Coser 1965:142).

When the deprived are enrolled among the listings of the
institutional assistance recipients, they pay the price in degrada-
tion and stigmatization. Loss of privacy and freedom to dispose of
the received monies are part of this process. Welfare administra-
tors, social workers and the like are the acting agents of this
degradation. The very nature of the relationship, based mainly on
impersonality between these agents and the assistance recipient,
eliminates an important element in the giver-receiver exchange, namely
gratitude towards the giver.

The personal factor thus eliminated, an asymetrical relation-
ship is established between the powerful dominant giver State and the

deprived poor, unable to reciprocate. According to Coser (1965:147)

19

the lack of opportunity for the poor to give back prevents him from
being "fully integrated into the social fabric."

In traditional societies charity is not in the hands of an
impersonal bureaucracy but comes from identifiable donors. Charity
has a name and surname. Thus the poor can reciprocate directly by
being thankful and indirectly by providing the opportunity to give.
In accordance with the above discussion, the poor of a traditional
society would be better integrated in society, free to maintain their
privacy and make personal decisions, than in an industrial society.
In most western societies "the poor had the function of affording the
rich the opportunity for socially prescribed 'good deeds'" (Coser
1965:141). Each rich man has his own poor man to help him cross
heaven's threshold.

To give is one of the recurrent messages of the Catholic
Church: to give food to the hungry, to give water to the thirsty.
The Catholic Church even makes the giving of alms a part of the estab-
lished ritual, requesting alms during the Mass. Another example of
the Church's relationship to almsgiving are the Franciscan and
Dominican mendicant orders among whom institutionalized begging has
redistributive purposes.

"Socially prescribed good deeds" are not only directly related

to the Church commandment of giving. They can also be seen as status

20

maintenance activities to maintain or preserve an image of benevo-
lence and a reality of super-ordination.

The giver-receiver relationships resemble a patron-client
relationship (Foster 1961) in which the receiver gives some intan-
gibles, for example the above mentioned gratitude, while the patron
provides immediate and tangible everyday support. Several degrees
of dyadic relationships of the above mentioned type may be estab-
lished between the beggar and different donors. The center of this
network will be the beggar. The quality of the relationship will
depend upon the degree of personal knowledge between the participants
and the certainty and the regularity of support which the beggar can
expect from a patron. We shall return to this point when discussing
more specifically begging behavior in San Cristobal.

Let's turn for a moment to the evolution of attitudes towards
begging in Central Europe. Ideally, such study would require some
evidence on prehispanic society, which we have not found even in the
earliest Spanish accounts. Does this mean that beggars were not an
obvious enough phenomenon to capture the attention of early observers?
Did prehispanic society provide a place for beggars within its
structure as some of the Olmec figurines of crippled people may sug-

gest? Lacking such information, we shall only review the European

21

and Spanish antecedents which may be relevant to an understanding of

begging in a Latin-American society.

Who Is A Beggar? Historical
Review of Begging_

In Spanish, a beggar is a limosnero (beggar), a mendigo (one
who customarily begs for alms) or a pgrdiosero (one who begs in the
name of God). All three meanings are defined as synonyms by the
Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Espahola (XIX edition,
1970). According to this generally accepted source, to beg is the
action of soliciting alms door to door. Alms are limosnas, from the
Latin alimosna or what is given in the name of God to help take care
of a need. This restriction of the term to those who beg door to
door is criticized by Gaya (1962:19) as not covering the total range
of situations where begging may occur.

The Random House Dictionary (1969 edition) defines a beggar
as "one who begs alms, or lives by begging." According to the same
source, begging means to ask for a gift, as charity or as a favor.
The name of God is absent in the English definition. Neither of
these definitions sheds light as to the social implications of such

an ancient way of making a living.

22

Freund (1925:113) proposes the following definition:
"Begging: Any person who wanders about in the streets or from house
to house, or who sits, stands or takes a position in any public place

and accepts alms from passersby as a result of an appeal expressed

 

either in words, exhibition or a sign, exposure of physical defect,
gestures, singing or playing of musical instruments, exhibiting for
sale such articles as pencils, gum, shoestrings, needles and other
cheap merchandise; also any person who appeals for alms through news-
papers, letters or phone calls, is deemed to be a beggar."

Gilmore reminds us that the beggar is almost universally a
"stranger to those from whom he receives alms"‘(l940:3). As early
as the Odyssey, we are told that "Strangers and beggars all come in
Zeus' name, and a gift is none the less welcome for being small"
(Book XIV:216).

,Two important social institutions are mixed here, hospitality
towards strangers and gift giving. Gilmore directs his attention to
the "resemblance between begging practices and the customs of treat-
ing strangers found in present-day preliterate societies" (Gilmore
l940:2). This custom is present in most ancient European societies
as well. Even in Homer's times there were people who habitually
lived on the hospitality of others, being not “strangers in a strict

sense" (Ibid. l940:5). All ancient records refer to public charity

23

as the customary solution to help the needy. Kinship and neighbor-
hood links were sufficient to provide for the needs of the members of
the group unable to be economically productive. Athens, and later on
Rome, provided for their needy citizens, while those not qualifying
for citizenship were somehow forced to beg. In Emperor Gratian's
times, Roman law made the first effort to regulate the activities of
beggars and the charity of private donors. "No longer may the
healthy beg for food. Those who wish to do good deeds may provide
for the aged and the infirm alone" (Thomas l932:3). Even when the
difference between the able-bodied and the invalid beggar is thus
established since early times, during the following historical periods
we shall rarely find restrictive laws against the sturdy beggar.
Prior to the end of the eighth century, it is very difficult
to differentiate between the life styles of beggars and vagabonds.
The monastic orders took care not only of the "genuine poor but also
of the ever increasing hordes of vagrants" (Thomas 1932:5). The
founding of the mendicant orders (Franciscans 1209; Dominicans 1220)
and the expansion of the universities "provided vagabonds with a
means of specious imposture. By 1400, vagabondage had become a
regular business east of the Rhine. Begging was practiced almost

less for necessity than for pleasure" (Thomas 1932:6-7).

24

Vagrancy was particularly attractive and at the same time
was socially functional. During the fourteenth and fifteenth cen-
turies, central European vagabonds served as a liaison between the
sedentary villages across which he moved. He was a carrier of fresh
news from one settlement to the other and his presence provided an
important cultural stimulant to young people, as the vagabond himself
was space and movement personified (Paultre l906:2). By no means was
the vagabond considered a social evil. The problem of the times was
the large amount of unemployed people who did not want to work except
under certain conditions and who asked for salaries higher than those
being offered by the prospective employers.

Almsgiving to able—bodied beggars (vagabonds were considered
within this category) becomes formally penalized in England by The
Royal Ordinance of Laborers of 1349 (Gilmore 1940:20). During the
same century, beggars, vagabonds and other rascals begin to organize
themselves. The Cours des Miracles (Court of Miracles) in France,

the Betler Orden (the brotherhood) in Germany, the Brethren Order in

 

England and the Cortes de los Milagros in Spain, are similarly ori-
ented organizations. In the shadow of these organizations, begging
became a highly developed profession and the old tricks known by beg-
gars at least since the thirteenth century became part of an organ-

ized process of apprenticeship.5

25

In the second part of the sixteenth century the state and
municipal governments began to consider vagabonds as dangerous men
and beggars as delinquents. The popular feeling vis-a—vis beggars
did not change because of this new governmental approach to the prob-
lem. It continued to be extremely favorable; the people continued
thinking that to give alms was to please God. As a consequence they
were basically hostile to any measure taken by the authorities against
beggars (Paultre 1906:55).

Despite the efforts of the municipalities to keep the number
of vagabonds within control, if not to stop the problem, their number
continued increasing regularly. Paultre claims two main causes for
this situation. The first, was the idleness of men whose trade used
to be warfare, as a consequence of the decline in the frequency of
fights between seigneurs and the creation of permanent armies.

Gillin (1929:429) points also this situation. The second factor was
the closing of the hospitals that existed in the countryside since
the Middle Ages. As a result, the poor people of the villages found
themselves without assistance in their native communities, moving
first to the villg§_(towns) where they were thrown out by the guards
and then to Paris and the few other big towns (Paultre 1906:57). To

these specific causes a third and general one is added: the misery

26

resultant from consecutively poor harvests, which had always been a
basic cause for poverty and mendicancy in agrarian societies.

The definition of vagabondage was still very imprecise
throughout the sixteenth century. A vagabond could be an ablefbodied
beggar, a roguish soldier, an adventurer, or any individual suspected
of brigandage. The only difference the law was concerned with was
the distinction between able-bodied and invalid beggars, thus estab-
lishing different rules for each category. At the gates of the city
of Paris, incoming beggars and vagrants were directed everyday, either
to a place to get alms, or to the public workshops where able-bodied
vagabonds could obtain a job for the day. At the beginning of the
seventeenth century, as the number of beggars continued to increase,
a different approach was taken by the authorities, who ordered the
imprisonment of beggars, able-bodied and invalid, in institutions
designated for each case. In order to enforce the law, the people
were required to stop giving alms, at least directly, to beggars on
the streets. Despite all this, the ordinance had no impact at all,
for the public continued giving alms.

Furthermore, there was no punishment contemplated for those
guilty of giving alms in the streets. Soon the measure proved to be
ineffective as the beggars ran away from the hospitals where they

were confined and, though facing punishment, returned to beg in the

27

streets. By 1618, the situation was the same as at the beginning of
the previous century.

Similar measures were taken in England, where, in 1528, a law
was enacted that said vagabonds and sturdy beggars should be "openly
whipped until his or her body be bloody" (Thomas 1932:46). In 1662,
residence laws defined the boundaries of local government respon-
sibility towards the poor (Gilmore 1940:22-23). A recommendation in

Las Partidas6 in Spain, deals also with the differentiation between

 

able-bodied and handicapped beggars. This recommendation advised
withholding alms from the able-bodied in order to warn them and make
them rely on earnings from their own work (Gaya 1962:20).

The Reformation clearly defined the qualifications for beggars
since giving to the able-bodied would not please the "reformed" image
of God's will. Work was considered a religious duty. Those quali-
fied to beg because of age or physical condition were given written
testimony of this authorization, which led to a productive business
of making counterfeit seals. These seals, both valid and counterfeit,
were also used by wandering scholars as they also needed a license
to beg (Thomas 1932:49).

Work houses, which seemed to have their antecedents in the

Ateliers Publiques of the sixteenth century, together with night

 

asylums and casual wards, arose in the nineteenth century as a way

28

to unsuccessfully attack the problems of vagrancy and begging. At
the beginning of the twentieth century, the "Report of the Depart-
mental Committee on Vagrancy" charged the English system with encour-
aging vagrancy and attracting vagrants to towns, among other faults.
The report stated that "free food and shelter can do nothing to check
tramp habits, on the contrary, they foster them" (Cooke 1908:405).
The philosophy of the times granted existence to the "decent
poor" who would not beg or tramp even though driven by starvation, as
opposed to the people of depraved habits who see no wrong in "idle-
ness and vice and consequently would pass these values on to their
children" (Cooke 1908:405). In order to cope with the "evils of
vagrancy," the aforementioned Committee recommended the establishment
of labor colonies in the fashion of institutions existing in Belgium,
Holland, Germany and Switzerland. These colonies in conjunction with
a governmental policy for "checking the supply of vagrants from the
ranks of childhood" were the solutions foreseen at the beginning of
the 1900's. Perhaps the immediate causes of poverty were different,
but the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution did not inter-
fere with the existence and maintenance of begging practices.
Instead, new opportunities for recruitment were provided as a conse-
quence of the new forms of unemployment. Urbanization and the devel-

opment of the metropolis brought a different kind of beggar than the

29

one found in the Middle Ages. As Gilmore says, ”with more and bigger
cities we have tended to get more and better beggars.‘ We have re-
ceived the practice of begging through the hands of many generations

as a disgraced but, by no means decadent profession" (1940:26).

Begging as Discussed in the
Social Sciences Literature

 

While reviewing the scarce literature dealing with begging,
we find ourselves confronted with its general conceptual poverty.
Until Fabrega's study (1971) most of the work on the subject is mainly
descriptive and uses statistics and case studies in order to char-
acterize a social evil for which it is necessary to recommend solu-
tions. Freund's Masters thesis of 1925 is the first example of this
type of research. His descriptions and comments on begging and beg-
gars reflect his bias: "begging is unjustifiable because of its use-
less expense to society in money and manpower . . ." ". . . individ—
uals lose more by its practice than they gain . . . because the prob-
lems given rise by begging are soluble by social agencies" (Freund
1925:11-112). '

Gillin's article on vagrancy and begging written in 1929 is a

general historical review designed to reinforce the author's opinion

30

that "beggars are a phenomenon of civilized society," as earlier
societies had "substitutes for charity, for instance, slavery, remar-
riage, prostitution, clientage and vassalage" (Gillin 1929:424).

In the foreword to Gilmore's The Beggar (1940), E. T.
Krueger states that "begging may be considered a form of human para-
sitism, as 'natural' in the interrelationships of human world as its
counterpart in the sub-human realm“ (in Gilmore l940:vii). Gilmore
proceeds to describe these "parasites" as he observed them at an
earlier date while working for a local government welfare agency. He
compares his observations with the descriptions given by Paulian in
the Beggars of Paris (Engl. trans. 1897). In this, he follows
Paulian's categories of street begging (either stationary or ambula-
tory), transport begging, store begging, residence begging and so
forth. Possibly influenced by an article in The Nation (vol. 79,
Dec. 1904), Gilmore emphasizes the artistic aspects of the beggar's
performance. Thus the beggar is described as an actor whose "intan-
gible art" is constantly changing "to fit the times in which he lives"
and the particular begging situation (Gilmore 1940:27).

Beggarhood, according to Gilmore, recruits its membership
mainly from two types of persons: those who go into begging due to
their failure in organized society, and those born within a "begging

culture":

31

Quite different from the social or
economic failure who takes to begging as an
adjustment is the person who is born and reared
as a beggar. As the royal heir is reared to be
a prince or a princess, so he is reared to be a
beggar. So deeply is the begging culture
imbedded in his nature, that he has a poise and
an ease in the begging role which cannot be
gained by the person who enters the profession
as an adult. He has no rationalization and
frequently no philosophy of life which he can
state in concrete terms. Indeed he does not
need one, for he has no conscience on the sub-
ject. He has always begged, his parents have
begged before him, and most of his friends
are beggars. To him this is a natural way
of making a living. None of his intimate
acquaintances question the practice, and he
sees no reason to question it. Conscientious
givers who reprimand him speak a language
which he does not understand. If he answers
them, it may be with a rationalization which
he has learned from others. Neither the
reprimand nor the rationalization have any
vital meaning for him. From the standpoint
of reform he is usually hopeless (Gilmore
1940:168).

Gilmore's book and Freund's thesis share an evaluative
approach which tends to bias their research. Begging is bad, there-
fore we must find why it is so bad, how large the problem is and how
to solve it. Gilmore's loose use of concepts such as culture and
also his use of secondary sources, including magazine articles written
by laymen (The Nation, 1904 LXXIX:516; Belloc in The Statesman, 1924,
XXIII:409 etc.) are points of weakness. Thus his work is useful for

our study mainly as a complement to our own knowledge on begging

32

acquired while being a giver or a prospective one, and in developing
working hypotheses during the design stage of our actual research.
Julia's work, the Estudiogpreliminar de la mendicidad en

Puerto Rico is exactly that, without spurious claims: a data bank

 

on begging practices and sociomedical aspects of begging in a given
place, Puerto Rico, at a given time, 1934 (Julia 1934).

Perhaps the most useful material for our purpose has been
the one produced in India. The available studies (Kumarappa 1945
and Gore 1959) have put together ideas and actual findings on the
causes of beggary (social, economic, psychiatric, medical and reli-
gious) (Radhakamal in Kumarappa 1945); the mental traits of beggars,
particularly focusing on the beggar's appeal (Sen Gupta in Kumarappa
1945); and a typology of begging that takes in account economic,
medical and religious factors (Katayun in Kumarappa 1945). The meth-
odology suggested in Gore (1959) has been particularly relevant for
our research in obtaining a count of a mobile population such as the
urban beggars.

So far, Fabrega (1971) presents the first attempt to study
begging in Mexico. Coming from an ethno-medical point of view, he
attempts to examine begging as a type of deviant behavior. Even
though our study is not concerned with theory of deviance, Fabrega's

work which has been crucial for our research. In his article of

33

1971, Fabrega posits the medical and psychological conditions for
begging and society's perception of the trade. But Fabrega's most
important contribution to this study came through discussion with
him (as a research director of this dissertation) of his 1969 field
data. These data provided the background for the fieldwork design

of this work.

Theories on Begging

Historically, vagrancy and begging have been closely related
for centuries. As vagrancy has been more extensively and systemati-
cally studied than begging, it seems appropriate to begin by review-
ing some of the theories developed to explain it. To Vexliard (1957)
and Vanderkooi (1966), vagrancy and begging appear to be consequences
of specific social and economic pressures acting upon basically mal-
adjusted individuals. Nevertheless, when comparing both lifestyles,
we must keep in mind that what may be a transitory activity in the
whole career of the vagabond, is the basic resource for the beggar.
An ideal vagabond would never be only a vagabond. He might work a
little, beg once in a while, and occasionally he might steal. The
professional beggar, defined as an individual who "works under a

rigid schedule, determined or reserved in time and space" (Vexliard

34

1957:44), will remain in that role most of the time. Paraphrasing
Vexliard, we may say that an ideal beggar will always be exclusively
a beggar. He might rove a little, he may steal once in a while, but
he alwayg will beg. This point established, we may now go ahead and
look into some of the theories on vagabonds.

Vexliard divides the theories on vagabonds into two main
types. The first group of theories puts the emphasis on the individ-
ual's responsibility. "Si un homme devient vagabond, c'est qui'il
l'a bien voulu en derniére instance" [If a man became a vagabond, it
is in his own free will] (Vexliard 1957:70). In its extreme form,
this approach rests upon an axiom that misery is caused by a funda-
mental and hopeless vice of the individual. As a consequence, society
has to establish repressive measures against vagrancy.

The second type of theory emphasizes collective responsibility
and accuses the structure of society as being responsible for the
existence of vagrancy. “Si des hommes devient vagabonds, c'est parce
que la société les a rejetés" [If men become vagabonds, it is because

society has rejected them] (Vexliard 1957:70).

35

Causes for Beggjgg_

The relevance of these theories and their applicability to

begging may be discovered using the data provided in the already

mentioned studies of begging. In a modified version of Vexliard's

classification (1957:96) we may differentiate the following causes

for begging:

1.

1.1.

1.1.1.

1.1.2.

SOCIAL PRESSURES

 

Socioeconomic problems

Unemployment. Gilmore (1940:213) emphasizes the fact that
organized society cannot provide a livelihood for all per-

7

sons through employment in socially approved and.produc-

tive occupations.

Displacement from the fields. Radhakamal gives the "loss of
agricultural employment in the villages" as the most common
cause for begging and worries about the "increasing propor-
tion by which the workers displaced from the land cannot find
employment and subsistence“ (Radhakamal in Kumarappa 1945:

20).

1.1.3.

1.2.

1.2.1.

1.2.2.

36

Technological unemployment. The labor surplus from over-
migration of unskilled labor to the industrializing centers
also creates socially displaced human groups. These groups,
formed by individuals who had lost security of their place
of origin, wandered around the city without a stable job or
residence. They were ready to enter the ranks of the social
scum or lumpen proletariat (Marx 1848:75-76). Some of the
beggars that had an employment history in Julia's study were

nonspecialized workers or domestic servants (Julia 1934:57).

Sociomedicalgproblems

 

Age. The lack of available jobs for the able-bodied elderly
or of adequate care facilities for those unable to work,
makes age a socio-medical handicap. The aged represented ;
twenty-four percent of the beggar's population in Julia's
sample (Julia 1934). Fabrega's unpublished figures show over
thirty percent of his sample falling in the age categories
over fifty. General statements on the problem can be found

in his 1971 report (Fabrega 1971:281).

Physical defects. The physically defective, such as the
blind and deaf-mute beggars, have what Katayun defines as

"the surest passport to the sympathy and purse-strings of the

1.2.3.

1.2.4.

37

public.‘I Those who have suffered from voluntary or involun-
tary accidents also have advantages when going into this
trade. "No crippled or disabled beggar in India ever dreams
of seeking surgical or medical aid. In fact he considers it
his special advantage or privilege to beg. Any loss or
deformity of leg, arm, foot, eye or sight is at once welcomed
as an asset and exploited to the fullest to earn a livelihood
by begging" (Katayun in Kumarappa 1945:9). Fabrega reports
on about four fifths of his sample as crippled or blind

(1971:281).

Mental disorders. As with age, the lack of rehabilitation
or care facilities for patients with minor mental illness
or mental defects, transform what could be classified as an
individual problem, into a social one. In my opinion, we
should include alcoholism in this category. Fabrega (1971:
280) and Radhakamal (in Kumarappa 1945) report on this type

of beggar.

Illness. Fabrega makes explicit reference to beggars "who
claimed a medical illness and appeared ill" and "those who

claimed illness but did not appear ill'I (Fabrega 1971:280).

2.1.

2.2.

38

INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS OR CONFLICTS

Social parasitism. I'The unattached and unsettled individual,
and his family (who) . . . have found a way of surviving
without participation in the ordered ways of society and have
learned to take toll of the fears, hospitality, and humani-
tarian impulses of settled folk" (Krueger in Gilmore 1940:
vii-viii). The mendiggsverggnzantes (those beggars ashamed
to beg openly) are a good example of these social parasites

(Fabrega 1971:283).

Economic parasitism. Closely associated with the socio-
economic category mentioned above. Individual problems are
some of the factors "which determine the selection of those
who are to be unemployed" (Gilmore 1940:213). Individual
motivations may be a partial answer to Gilmore's question on
"why part of those who are refused employment in the economic
system and some who might secure employment choose to beg"
(Gilmore 1940:213). It is possible to assume that this cate-
gory could be dependent or sometimes absorbed in any of the

above.

39

The following Table No. 2 will serve in the way of summary:

Table 2.--Causes of Begging Proposed by Previous Literature.

 

 

1. SOCIAL PRESSURES
Socioeconomic Problems: Unemployment

Displacement from the Fields
Technological Unemployment

Sociomedical Problems: Age
Physical Defects
Mental Disorders
Illness
2. INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS

Social Parasitism

Economic Parasitism

 

The aim of this research is not to find out whether begging is
caused by social or individual causes; rather, we shall concentrate

on the phenomena as given.

40

Reasons for Giving

 

One universal reason for the existence of beggars is the
support they receive from the givers. "The giver is the complement
of the beggar . . . . If the giver would not give, the beggar would
not beg" remarks Gilmore, and we must agree (Gilmore 1940:146).

Reasons for almsgiving appear to fall into three classes:
the lag of custom, the appeal to reason, and emotional factors.
Organized religion and superstition have always reinforced the custom
of almsgiving. Even Protestant philosophy, which discourages alms-
giving and leaves the support of the deprived in the hands of orga-
nized philanthropy, "has not extended its full effects to the lay-
men . . . when they face the beggar, therefore, they are haunted by
the possible consequences of a refusal to give" (Gilmore 1940:199).

The hard-luck stories of beggars appeal to both reason and
emotion. Also, the prospective donor may rationalize, as suggested
by Gilmore (1940:204-206), that perhaps relief organizations made a
mistake in refusing assistance to somebody in real need. Thus the
alms he gives become a remedy for such errors. Gilmore also postu—
lates a universal reason for the beggar's success through the ages:
"The responsibility one feels for a fellow in need" (1940:29).

Emotions of pity, sympathy and the like are common expla-

nations for almsgiving; need for "release from an unpleasant

41

situation" and the "need for self-confidence" are also noted (Gilmore
1940:204-206).

Ego-satisfaction reinforcement by the beggar's blessing, hope
for personal gain, based on the belief that "a good deed will help
obtain the grace of God, are all important reasons for almsgiving"
(Manshardt quoted in Kumarappa 1945:163-164).

Sen Gupta, when analyzing the begging appeal states: "Suc-
cess of beggary . . . presupposes a high degree of emotional naiveté
and some surplus cash among people in general" (Sen Gupta in Kumarappa
1945:28).

Thus far we have presented a historical outline of begging
behavior and how previous authors have approached this subject. Let
us now turn to our particular problem, which is the beggars studied
in the city of San Cristobal Las Cases. In order to do so, we shall
first focus on the setting for our study; thus, the next chapter is

devoted to the city of San Cristobal and its over-all population.

42

 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
   
 
 

 

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Fig. l.--Map of Chiapas.

CHAPTER II

SAN CRISTOBAL, CIUDAD REAL EN LOS ALTOS DE CHIAPAS

The City

The bus is moving along the road somewhere between Chiapa de
Corzo and San Cristobal. The landscape, marked by high hills under
a striking twilight, helps the tired traveler to reconcile himself
with Chiapas. The oppressive heat of the hot country which had not
been overcome by the air conditioning system of the bus, the long
night riding between Mexico and Oaxaca, the uninviting places called
bus stops, are some of the woes that lose importance as compared with
the colorful and peaceful sunset.

Very soon night is already upon us. We are now in the valley.
The place we arrive at is a quiet sleeping city lit by old style
lamps attached to the walls of the houses. The image we get as a
first impression is more that of a small town than of a city of
35,000 inhabitants. We have arrived at the former Ciudad Real, known
since 1945 as San Cristobal, Las Casas.

San Cristobal was founded in the center of the mountain valley
formed by the Amarillo River in the Northwest and the Fogdtico River

43

44

in the South. The valley is in the Mesa Central de Chiapas; it is
separated from the Sierra Madre in the South by the Central Valley
formed by the Grijalva River, which is the main hydrographic feature
of this region.

This section of the Sierra is characterized by multiple
rivers and streams which, as the Amarillo, disappear into gullyholes.
According to Helbig, the Amarillo never carries less than three cubic
meters of good water per second (1961:96). This fact, plus the exis-
tence of several springs and streams in its immediate area, gives to
San Cristobal the security other cities in the region lack: having
a good water supply even during the dry season, from November through
May. On the other hand, during the rainy season, the lower sections
of the city become a moor and the fear of a repetition of the Great
Flood of 1785 is still in the minds of some people.

According to the Indian tradition the city was founded in a
lake bed.8 Indians used two Nahua words to name the city: ggy§l_
(the high grass) and a less frequently Huey Zagatlan (the land of the
high grass). San Cristobal is a humid, damp place. The relative
humidity is 80%, the median rainfall is 945 mm and the median annual
temperature is 16° C (about 60° F).9

At an altitude of 2,210 m. above sea level (about 7,000 ft.),

the valley is surrounded by calcareous tufa, limestone and andesita

45

mountains covered by woods of pine, oak and madrona trees. The high-
est points are in the Huitepec at the West that rises up to 2,600

m above sea level; and the Tzontehuitz at 3,000 m. A semi—tropical
climate region, the landscape of the city is highlighted by green
meadows and orchards. Even within the urban limits in the northeast,
we find rich orchards where apples, pears, peaches and quince trees
grow.

According to the rigid regulations of the Spanish Crown re-
garding the founding of cities in the New World, in force at the time
Diego de Mazariegos (councilman of Mexico city sent as captain of
Chiapa to pacify the Indians) arrived to the valley, the city was
designed following a strict grid pattern10 (Figure No. 2). Following
tradition,1] Mazariegos named the city Villa Real de San Cristobal in
the memory of his home town on March 31, 1528 (Flores Ruiz 1961:235).

The original population of 40 Spanish and Indian families was
distributed around a central plaza, where space was provided to
accomodate the Cathedral and the Government House. Following the
hierarchical principle implied in the grid distribution,12 the Qggtrg
was subdivided into lots for the Spanish families while the Indians
who came with them as carriers were assigned lots farther away. The
Mexica and the Nahuas were settled in the section known today as

Barrio de Mexicanos, and the Tlaxcaltecas in the present barrio of

46

 

Fig. 2.—-Plan of San Cristobal.

47

Tlaxcala. Both settlements were in a slight Northwest direction from
the central plaza_and between them there was a bridge which was
destroyed later on, during the second Chamula revolt of 1586. A
latter settlement was done by Mazariegos, when he brought a nomadic
group of Kachiguelas from Guatemala and gave them the land of what
today is Cuxtitali in the northeast of the plaza,

Five more barrios have grown after this original design.
According to Trens (1957:173-187), by the end of the seventeenth
century the city already had nine barrios, including El Centro.

Later on we find the development of Guadalupe in the central area and

San Ramon and Ojg_de Agua in the edges of the city (las orillas).13

 

 

Recently, and as an extension of Guadalupe along the road to
Tenejapa, La Garita has appeared. Its population is almost exclu-
sively Indian and its inhabitants are unskilled laborers such as

itinerant vendors, load carriers (cargadores), carriers of grass

 

(cargadores de juncia) and of charcoal. The housing conditions of
La Garita are the poorest of the city, lacking basic facilities such
as water and sewage. "They form the lower class of the city" said a
Catholic priest.

Like other similarly designed cities, San Cristobal is encoun-
tering two major changes into its residencial ecology. First, it is

possible to observe changes within the traditional settlement

48

pattern, such as the existence in las orillas (the outskirts) of
newly built houses which by their quality and style are atypical to
the pappip. Enclaves of such houses are important for the material
progress of these barrios because they bring sewage, street lights
and pavement to the neighborhood. The owners of these houses are
successful artisans or small merchants. They are also the younger
generation of adults who, in order to establish their own households,
must rely upon rebuilding a house from the family rental property.
They also include enterprising individuals who plan to build houses
for rental or sale in the periphery of the city. The fact that many
middle-class citizens can afford at least a used Volkswagen makes it
possible for them to live farther from the center. Nevertheless, we
must not get the wrong impression; the people involved in these changes
are isolated modernizing agents (to use Lerner's terminology, 1964)
and they are prototypes of the Sancristobalenses.

Las Colonias are another type of new urban development. They
consist of planned subdivisions of private or State-owned lands into
relatively cheap small units. The inhabitants of the colonias perceive
themselves as being at a higher economic level compared to people of
las orillas. Most of them have been Ladinos for more than a genera-

tion. Colonias Revolucion and Santo Domingo in the North and Los

 

Pinitos by the Campo Aereo are examples of this type of settlement.

49

The houses in the Colonias are built recently and in most
cases still unfinished, presenting unplastered agppg_(mud brick)
walls. There are empty spaces between houses, a feature that dis—
appears as we move into the more closely settled barrios. There, the
limits of each house are perceivable by the different color of each
property. These range from the traditional white and brick-red to
.the shocking violet that seems to be a new fashion, perhapsdiffused
from Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the State, where this color is

widely used.

As we move into the economically more advanced barrios, status
considerations will also limit the color selection for the houses as
some colors are associated, from an upper class standpoint, with pp§p_
o malgusto (good or bad taste). Examples of "good taste" in house
colors are the neutral or matte ones; bad taste is manifested in
bright, harsh colors. Status aspirations or actual social status of
the house owner will also appear in architectural details, such as
the recently incorporated forged iron bars on the windows.

Even though the borders between barrios are not as rigid as
they originally were, social stratification by paprip_still does
exist. One expression of this situation is the nickname by which the
inhabitants of each pappjp_are jokingly designated, i.e., those of

Guadalupe are naranjeros (orange growers); those of San Ramon are

50

cabezas de carnero (sheep's heads); those of Cuxtitali are cocheros14 '

(pork butchers), etc. This is a reflection of the traditional job
differentiation by pappjp_(see Table No. 3).

Apart from the nickname and trade, each barrio has another
mechanism to maintain the cohesion among its inhabitants: the common
veneration of a given Patron Saint. Some barrios, like La Merced,
founded one century after the Convent of Los Mercedarios was estab-
lished (Trens 1957:177), have more than one church, but in general a
minimum of at least one oratory is usual. In front of each church or
oratory there is a plaza where the people gather to celebrate the
Saint's Day or other religious festivities.

No matter how many efforts for simplification of the ritual
have been made by the new generation of Catholic priests, the ritual
is still a complicated mixture of medieval Catholicism and borrowing
from the Indians of the region. Time and money consuming papgpé.
(positions related to the Indian civil-religious hierarchy)

(Carrasco 1961), cash money raised for cohetes (fireworks), cloth for
the saints and consumption items, are the features that maintain the
population of the barrio united and in continuous rivalry with the
other barrios.

0n the basis of what we have been describing above, we could

define a barrio as a territorial unit in which the bond between its

51

Table 3.--Traditiona1 Job Differentiation by Barrios.

 

 

 

No.* Barrio Trade

1 Centro Commercial sector. Ham and sold meat
household industries.

1 La Merced Silversmiths, tinsmiths, candlemakers.

2 Guadalupe Saddlers. Toymakers. Guitarmakers.
Candymakers. Selling of objects bought
from the Indians.

3 Santa Lucia Cabinetmakers. Carpenters. Masons.
Cohete makers.

4 Cuxtitali Fruit merchants. "Tamales."15 Pork meat.

5 Mexicanos Weavers. Dyers. Tanners. Title makers.

6 Cerrillo Blacksmiths.

7 San Ramon Potters. Tile makers. Bankers.
"Atajadores" (west entrance).16

7 San Diego Muleteers. Laundresses. "Tortilla" and
"comales"17 makers.

8 Col. Los Pinitos Woodmen. Muleteers. Workmen. Fruit
vendors.

8 Col. Revolucidn Masons.

9 La Garita "Atajadores" (east entrance). They get
firewood, shingle and wood.

9 Ojo de Agua ”Atajadores" (north entrance).

 

*The number represents the hierarchy established among the barrios
from economically and socially best (1) to worst (9) (see next page).

52

human components is dependent and reinforced by economic and reli-
gious affiliation.18 Some researchers have perceived the pappjp_as
being endogamous (Montagu 1957-58z3) but I would rather attribute
this apparent paprig endogamy to the class orientation of each b_a£i_o_.
Marriage and dating are still constrained within each class. This is
especially so among the upper class families, but it is also a sign
of the aspirations of the socially mobile groups.

In order to establish the social status of each barrio as per-
ceived by the Sancristobalenses (the people of San Cristobal) we
questioned individuals of different social, economic and educational
status. The respondents answered first giving a hierarchical number
to each barrio. A check-up question then inquired for the pappjp_in
which they personally would like to live most, or least. As a result
of the answers of eighteen informants we can list the barrios in the
following order, beginning by the best or richest ones: 1) Centro,

La Merced; 2) Guadalupe; 3) Santa Lucia; 4) Cuxtitali; 5) Mexicanos,
Cerrillo; 6) San Ramon; 7) San Antonio, San Diego; 8) Colonia Los
Pinitos; 9) Colonia Revolucion and 10) La Garita. The social strat-
ification of the barrios coincides with the traditional development
of the grid and serves as another feature by which one may define San

Cristobal as a Traditional City (Sjoeberg 1955:438-445).

53

There is a relatively large amount of literature dealing with
San Cristobal. The descriptions range from the very emotional and
idealistic ones of Manuel Trens (1957), to the more objective ones
of Sidney Markman (1963). A newspaper article (Koch 1972) presents
the city as an excellent place for Indian watching. Perhaps this is
one of the main reasons for its success as a tourist center although
there is also the fact that San Cristobal is on the Panamerican High-
way route to Guatemala and Central America.

There are some remnants of the Spanish Colony in the design
of the city, such as the hyperabundance of churches,19 architectural
features, houseplans and so on. Nevertheless, in terms of architec-
ture the few buildings that could better represent this colonial
tradition20 are not especially protected against time and dirt. The
same has happened to more immediate historic remnants, such as the
inscriptions in Utrilla Bridge, at one of the entrances to the city,
where the roads from Chamula and Tuxtla converge. These inscriptions
were at one time covered by layers of paint, posters and political
propaganda.

The present appearance of the city is one of flat rows of
houses climbing up and down along streets which may or may not be
paved, according to the relative prosperity of the pappip, During

the rainy season it is common to see fast streams of water running

54

from Guadalupe to El Centro, making the generally difficult task of
driving even more so. Cars belong to the new era of mechanization.
The number of cars on the streets is evidence of the economic pros-
perity of the "Coletos" (generic term to designate the people of San
Cristobal, see page no. 62) and large American vehicles must compete
for space with the myriad of barefooted Indians who invade the narrow
streets from dawn to dusk.

In the small cities and towns of Latin America, the plaza_
still maintains its role as social, economic, religious and civic
center. San Cristobal's central plaza, known as E1 Pargue and erro-
neously referred at as El cha102] is no exception to this pattern.

El Parque Central Vicente Espinoza is named in honor of its builder,

 

an architect from Oaxaca who was working in San Cristobal between
1892 and 1905. On the north side of El Pargue there is the Cathedral
to the side of which is the church of San Nicolas, patron of §l_
Cgptpp, On the west side there is a covered sidewalk separated from
the street by an arcade. The Municipal Palace is behind the side-
walk. The reargrounds of the palace still retain the colonnade that
circumscribes the area once occupied by the Municipal Market. The
southern limit and the arcades of the East are the locations for
assorted commerce, the National Bank and a hotel. This hotel occu-

pies what is known as the House of the Syren, a relic of colonial

55

civil architecture. In the southwest corner of E1 Pargue there is
another hotel established in a house known for its beautiful colonial
patio.

At the center of El Pargue, following again the traditional
design of the central plazag, there is a two-level kiosk. The first
level is covered and was used until very recently as a meeting place
for the young people of San Cristobal. There, they could get together
to listen to a Wurlitzer while drinking soda-pop or beer.22 The sec-
ond level is reserved for invited bands, marimbas and the like to play
during special days.. When there is no live music entertaining in the
evening, the loudspeakers are broadcasting music from the local radio
station and propaganda related to current political or civic issues.
"Join the meeting to receive Mr. Licenciado so and so . . . I," "Put
the garbage in its place!,Y "Do not walk in the middle of the
streets!"

During the annual fair El Parque becomes a colorful and noisy
gathering site, not only for the inhabitants of San Cristobal but for
the many visitors coming from neighboring towns and settlements.
Shortly after sunset, visitors of all ages begin to arrive at El_
Papgpg, As it gets darker the place becomes very crowded. Young
people move along tight concentric circles going in alternate oppo-

site directions. Boys throw confetti upon the heads of the girls

56

coming along the adjacent line. Adults divide their attention among
the several varieties of lotteries, roulettes and raffles, or sit down

to eat enchiladas and drink beer in any of the open locales. Parents

 

with young children fight for space around the merry go rounds.

The smell of the freshly made food gets mixed with the sweet
odor of confection fruit that makes San Cristobal famous in the
region, and the roasted corn ears sold by Indian women sitting on the
ground. The marimba, the northern musicians and the Cerveza Corona
Band, compete all at once for the attention of the listeners. "All
the numbers are prized," "Black the thirteenth!," call the hawkers.
And the monotonous music of the Ferris Wheel completes the noisy pic-
ture. To one side of the inner sidewalk of El Pargue, the photog-
rapher of the horse and hat and make-believe backgrounds waits for
his clients, while inside the open restaurants and beer gardens, the
newcomers, the Polaroid photographers, struggle to take pictures.

During normal days E1 Parque is a meeting place for employees
who sit on the benches to get a shoe shine while reading the news-
paper, Indian families sitting under the sun, old and young people
passing the time. The east arcade gives shelter to a variety of ven-
dors who assemble their vending tables along the walls by the stores
or beside the columns (Figure No. 3). There are the sisters who

sell confections, the old man who brings colored straw figures from

57

 

Fig. 3.--"The East Arcade gives shelter to a variety of vendors.“

58

Puebla, the old woman selling bottles as old as herself, the girl who
sells mirrors, plastic jewelry and fake amber. Once in a while
strolling itinerant merchants come into El Pargue to tempt the San-
cristobalenses with vinyl children's coats and brilliant low quality
watches. The traffic policemen stand talking and joking with the
vendors and passers-by while directing the vehicles in their respec-
tive southeast and southwest corners of E1 Pargue. The civic impor—
tance of the day can be predicted by whether they wear full uniform
or not.

Tourist and young American students form also part of this
portrait of the central plaza_of San Cristobal, as they must stop in
the bank to cash their traveller's checks or come just to take a walk
around the plaza. Beggars in E1 Parque pay special attention to
these prospective clients as they are more willing to give alms than
the regular Sancristobalense relaxing or walking across El Parque.
The stores surrounding E1 Parque are also important in terms of the
beggars' regular schedule. According to this schedule we shall see
an increase in the number of beggars in the area during Saturday,
Sundays and Fair days.

During the day and special evenings, such as during fairweek,
the Indians become part of the human landscape of El Pargue. Never-

theless this sector is without question a Ladino stronghold. Except

59

for few Indians who occasionally sit on the benches and the corn-on-
the-cob sellers who sit down in the stairs by the northwest arcade,

business in E1 Parque is conducted by Ladinos. Even the young shoe

shine boys are Ladinos.

The Market, on the contrary, is a different world; it belongs
to the Indians. Early in the morning they begin to take positions
in order to begin business in the permanently demarcated areas on the
ground level and display their wares. Most of the stores in the
underground area are managed by Ladinos but still, there is a domi-
nance of Indians over Ladinos and the prevalent languages are the
aboriginal Tzeltal and Tzotzil. Since it is an Indian place in this
Ladino city, the Market daily life begins to fade in the early after-
noon, disappearing before sunset.

El Mercado Castillo Tielemans was recently built in the north
of the city, close th the barrios Mexicanos and Cerrillo and to
Colonia Revolucibn. There are several vendors in the area near the
market. On the streets to the south of the market there are stores
of clothing, fabrics, plastic items and food, mainly oriented to
Indian clients. Across the streets, in the market proper, there are
fabrics, Needles, pins and the like, waiting for Indian or Ladino
"sirvientas"23 coming to the Market to shop for their employers (a

hacer e1 mandado).

60

The fppga§_are in the back of the market plaza. They have a
mixed clientele; Indians, some Ladinos and a few young Americans can
obtain a one pg§p_plate or a complete serving for about four pg§p§_
(0.32 dollars).

The open area has spaces of one square meter outlined on the
ground. Each of these squares is the site for a family or an indi-
vidual vendor and his products. The rows of squares are separated by
pathways filled with people who make movement difficult as they search
for quality products or haggle with the seller. The transactions are
conducted mainly in Tzotzil which is basically known by most adult
Ladinos. The preferred bargaining position is squatting.

About two in the afternoon, this area becomes partially de-
serted and the only evidence of earlier activity is the huge nets
containing merchandise left for the next day or filled with the items
which the trader family has bought in town. Every day is market day
in San Cristobal. The best days are Saturday and Sunday, as wit-
nessed by relatively larger crowds than on weekdays. The busy hours
of the market are from 9 to 11 A.M., though the activity begins about
6 in the morning when trucks bringing products and men from the
Cooperativas Agricolas (Agricultural Cooperatives) begin to unload

their cargoes in the east side of the market plaza.

61

The underground area shelters grain, meat, fruit and varied
products at permanent stands. The attendants have a permit to work
on a regular basis. They are merchants, different from the Indians
who are primarily peasants coming to town to sell part of their sur-
plus or cash crops. These vendors are mostly Ladinos and live either
in San Cristobal or in the immediate neighborhoods.

In the western section of the basement area there is an altar
with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a statue of another
Virgin. The altar is always freshly decorated with flowers, ribbons
and a votive candle (veladora). Crossing through the semirounded
arches, the visitor reaches the parking area. More stores are located
here and a loudspeaker makes known where and what is on sale cur-
rently. At other times the loudspeaker provides music or gives
information about events, such as there being a funeral service for
Juanita Perez to which all her friends are invited.

Buses take people back and forth from this parking area to
the barrios. The relationship between the drivers and their pas-
sengers is very friendly. "Hurry up Dofia Juanita, we can't wait any
longer," "Don Pedrito, could you wait one more minute? I forgot to
buy thread . . . .“ Of course this delays the departure, but nobody

cares. Sooner or later "el veintero"24 will begin its route and in

62

the meantime there is always the opportunity to learn new gossip or
take a short nap.

As can be seen, El Pargue and the Market are two important
meeting places for the people of San Cristébal. The church and related
plagp_of each pappjp, the Sporting unit, El Cubito (a public swimming
hole), the textile factory and El Cerro de San Cristobal are other
reference points within the city. Tourists will look also for the
Blom's museum, the arch of El Carmen and the stores in Guadalupe
street where Indian crafts are being sold. Beggars prefer to be in
the first two places, especially during weekends. On Saturday they

can be seen in Guadalupe street as well.

The "Coletos"

 

There are two versions of the origin of the name coletos,
used regionally to denote the people of San Cristébal. The first one
is simplistic and was told to me by a man from Tuxtla, San Crist6bal's
rival city. This version states that the term is only a reference to
men's hairdo in fashion during Colonial times. The hair was worn
pulled back, tied, and left dangling in curls in what in Spanish is a
gplgta, Aguirre Beltran (1967:233) also makes reference to the

coleta.

63

The second version refers to the history of the city as told
by a pplgtp_friend. A year before Mazariegos founded Villa Real,
Luis Marin, another Spanish officer, was defeated by Chamula ambush
near today's San Felipe. The prisoners taken by the Chamulas were
not accepted within the walls of the Indian settlement but subjected
to slavery and sent to live together with a group of Indian slaves in
a place at the west of Jovel. This place was named Cplgt_which means
by the lake or by the water. The same year of 1527, Diego de
Mazariegos was assigned to finish the conquest of Chiapas. He de-
parted immediately from Mexico taking with him several of Luis Marin's
soldiers, including Bernal Diaz del Castillo who later was going to
write the history of the conquest (1536). Mazariegos entered in
peace in Chiapa de Corzo. There, the former injured soldiers of Luis
Marin's campaign, were already established and had formed their fam-
ilies. These people helped Mazariegos to cross the river and told
him about the valley. Following the trail they showed him, he
arrived at Colet. It was already 1528. Mazariegos flanked Chamula
and entered the valley without combat. There he presided over the
founding of the city. The Spaniards found living in Colet were named
"coletos" by the just arriving explorers. Coletos and newcomers

worked together in designing the layout of the new city and established

64

themselves in it, forming with the Indian carriers the original popu-
lation of San Cristébal.

Even though the city was located along the only route to
Guatemala the population isolated itself and furthermore, it was
reluctant to receive immigrants. The neighbors were proud "papa-
llgppgfwho based their prestige on the possession of land and good
breeding stock. Their horses were especially famous for their high
quality. As any well born gentleman should, they scorned commerce
and trade as being low class activities.

The limited population of the city, the inaccessibility of
the external market plus the tendency to accumulate the kind of goods
already described, gave as a result a class with empty purses but of
a very high social rank (Markman 1963:16). In terms of their social
relations to other cities they maintained their isolation even after
roads and transportation made distance a less important factor. San
Crist6bal is still far from being hospitable to strangers, says a
chiapaneco author (Castellanos 1962:100).

The name of the city has been changed several times in its
history. There are discussions as to which the exact original name
was: Villa Real de Chiapas or Villa Real de San Cristobal. This
name was changed in 1529 to the strange descriptive one of Villa-

viciosa (Vicious Town) by Juan Enrique Guzman, major councilman sent

65

to the city by the Real Audiencia de Mexico. He also expropriated
the encomiendas of the conquerors, including Mazariegos' Chiapa de
Indios (Markman 1963:7).

Two years later its name became San Cristobal de los Llanos,
remaining thus until the city's rank was raised in 1535, when Emperor
Carlos V assigned it a coat of arms. A year later it received the
title of City and became Ciudad Real until 1824, "year of the sepa-
ration from Spain" (Helbig 1961:97). It became San Cristébal, until it
was officially given the “surname" of Las Casas honoring its first
Bishop, on January 17, 1884. Ninety years later, as a consequence
of the anti-religious movements, the first name was eliminated. It
was only Ciudad Las Casas until well entered the twentieth century
when custom changed it back to the composite name, San Cristobal,

Las Casas; or San Cristébal de Las Casas (Markman l963:9).

The status of the city as a Catholic Di6cesis, seat of the
first episcopate of Chiapas, has been a source of pride for its
inhabitants. On the other hand, this pride was seriously hurt by
the loss of its privileges as State Capital when power was trans-
ferred to Tuxtla Gutierrez in 1893. Whenever it is possible the
coletos will complain of what they consider an unfortunate mistake of
history. Some consolation is derived from the fact that during the

current period a coleto is Governor.

66

Another factor for their anger at being deprived of what was
theirs comes recurrently into the conversation with coletos, espe-
cially during the sentimental and communicative stages of drunken-
ness. The city used to be the seat of the best university of Chiapas,
the fifth oldest in America, founded in 1826. The Normal School
founded in 1828, the first of its kind in the Continent and the Law
school are the only reminders of this brilliant educational past.
This prestige is not really evident in today's San Crist6bal, which
is closer to Eduardo Flores' description of 1961, "we have in front
of our eyes a mestizo city of median culture, deeply religious and
of scarce economic resources" (Flores 1961:235-236; written with
capital letters in the original).

The composition of San Cristébal's population a century and
a half after its founding is estimated by Trens (1957:167-169) to
have been 3,755 inhabitants. This figure includes 560 Spaniards,
1710 pagta_and mestizos, 755 mulatoes and negroes and 730 Indians.
By the eighteenth century there were 5,394 inhabitants, of which only
564 were Spaniards.

This original population has undergone two different devel-
opments. One deals with a natural process of mestizaje, the other
with a cultural process of ladinization. In the first case the

phenotypical characteristics of the interbreeding groups (the

67

original Spanish, Nahuas, Mexicas and Tlaxcaltecas) became somehow
fused into a new type, e1 mestizo. Nevertheless, in traditionalist
and isolated societies such as the one we are dealing with, racial
segregation is still in effect. Thus, even today it is possible to
find families who proudly will trace their origin to a given Spanish
household and carefully hide the black sheep, living evidence of
their deviant behavior. The whiteness of the skin and the absence of

mestizo features are associated in these societies with gente de bien

 

(good families).

This group of people, the gente de bien have two categories
of offspring. One is the legitimate offspring who have all the privi-
leges and rights of modern-democratic-national law. These children
are hopefully closer to the ideal phenotype and will attend private
schools, enjoy vacations in fashionable places and later on go to
college in Mexico City at least. The other is the outcast, the ille-
gitimate children without any surname except their mother's. Only
if the odds are favorable, may they be able to go to school and learn
Spanish.

Mexico is part of the so called mestizo America. Even San
Cristébal is a mestizo city itself. But this has nothing to do with

the fact that, as interpreted by the own participants of the culture,

68

the more aindiado (Indian-like) a man looks, the more ppptp_(crude)
he is thought to be.

The ladinization process, what Aguirre Beltran (1967) calls
the cultural mestizaje, is a more complex one. Using language as an
indicator of ladinization, we find that in San Cristébal 6% of
roughly 30,000 inhabitants speak only the Indian dialect and that
32% of the same population is bilingual (Weber 1960). We can assume
that part of this bilingual population consists of Ladinos or
Indians in the process of ladinization, since Spanish is a prerequi-
site for acculturation.

In general the language in San Cristobal is a very peculiar
mix: the composition of its basic population produced a Spanish
dialect which incorporated a large number of Nahua words, especially
those concerning things produced by the earth (A. Beltran 1970:87).
This and the archaism of the Spanish are interesting linguistic by—
products of cultural isolation.

Ladinos and Indians form two distinct categories and the
crossing of the ethnic line is a painful one. Though this crossing
is not as hard as reported by Colby and Van der Berghe for Guatemala
(1961), el indio revestido (Indian dressed as Ladino) will be alien

to the Ladino society.

69

Factors such as education and money, which are not available
for the majority of the Indians, may help the incorporation but in
these regions (Regiones de Refugio) it will happen contrary to what's
going on at the national level "where the processes of mestizaje and
acculturation are conjugating very different physical and behavioral
types." In these regions, "the racial and social segregation still
persist" (Aguirre Beltran 1967:42). The Indian community will,
depending on the case, accept the ladinizado Indian as being a
civilized man or, distrustfully, as belonging to the other group, the
Ladinos.

Returning to the Ladino society of San Cristobal, there are
clear and generally recognized social class differences among them.25
Selected informants from different occupational, socioeconomical and
instructional levels were asked to establish the basic relationships
between occupational categories on the one hand and variables such as
education, income, political power and social prestige. "Educacién"
as a fifth variable is, in Latin America, independent of the other
four. A man could be very poor, scarcely literate, with no social or
political influence but un hombre muy educado (a very well behaved

man). The measure of educacion is not a standard one. The expecta-

tions will depend on the specific situation. What is acceptable

7O

behavior in a given person will be rejected in another as a symptom

of mala educacion (bad behavior).

 

General demeanour, conversational manners, general knowledge
of regional, national and international issues, su trato (the manner

in which he interacts with other people), su cultura (in a word, all

 

these characteristics together) will be factors to be taken into
account.

According to the tradition of the Spanish caballero, the high
class, about 5% of the population, is composed of land owners and
rentiers. To be a merchant has been accepted as a possible activity
especially if it is highly remunerative. But monetary considerations
would never interfere as a factor if a decision has to be made between
a high income-low prestige activity or a low income-high prestige one.
A high class Ladino, or one pretending to be such, will rather main-
tain a shining facade hiding an empty pantry, than a loaded barn
behind an obscure appearance.2

The middle class of San Cristébal is not even emerging as a
distinct group. Twenty percent of the city's population consists of
bureaucrats, small merchants and successful craftsmen without a clear
class orientation. They either aspire to the higher classes, or
still belong to the non-important majority of workers and Indians.

Furthermore, many white collar workers living in San Cristébal stay

71

there only during weekdays or as long as their job assignments require,
but have their roots in other cities such as Tuxtla and even distant
Mexico City.

Craftsmen, peddlers, servants, mpzp§_and others, impose on
the city a dominant tone of decent poverty. The working class,
defined as a self conscious group, does not exist within this land-
scape. The few people who work as hired laborers at other agricul-
tural work are a small and exploited group of individuals. Like the
previous group, some of these workers are also non-native.

An important difference between classes is found in their per-
ceptions towards the outside world. Historically, Chiapas has been a
different world as compared to the other states of the nation.
Bordering on Guatemala and part of that country for several years,
its links have been more with the green country of the South than with
the Mexican nation to which it belongs as a result of historical cir-
cumstances. Thus, Mexico City is a distant reference point. Among
the middle class, going to Mexico City is an important and carefully
planned event, which will provide a conversational theme to the fam-
ily and friends for a long time. To the more affluent classes it is
only a matter of a few hours to fly to Mexico, and they are really

closer to Mexico than to Tuxtla.27

72

For the common man anyway there are very few occasions on
which, apart from family problems, he would need to solve his
affairs farther than at the State capital. Most of the time he would
not need to go beyond the Presidencia Municipal; or perhaps he will

never reach such a level, as his problems will be solved or disolved28

through the efforts of a functionary and an adequate "mordida."29

The law is relative; as an example, San Cristébal's jail is
crowded with ngjgp_inmates: one may wonder how in a city of 35,000
no Ladino has ever offended the law as to deserve imprisonment. In
any case, there are two government agencies in town, set up to assist
the Indian population. One is the Indian Affair Office, whose main
task is acting as a legal consultant to the Indians. In most cases
it limits its action to land delimitation problems in relationship to
the ejido system. According to one of its officers, the main prob-
lem they face is lack of personnel and budget for the adequate atten-
tion to the numerous complaints.

Another agency, the Instituto Nacidnal Indigenista, is espe-
cially designed and works mainly in the areas of health, education
and cultural extension to the Indian communities.

Of the 200,000 Tzeltal and Tzotzil speaking Indians who live
in the nearby communities, roughly 55,000 Tzotziles and about 25,000

Tzeltales are in direct and almost constant commercial contact with

73

San Cristébal or Sancristobalenses (Montagu 1957-58). They come to
sell their agricultural and numerous craft products. The first type
of selling is mainly done in the Market and sometimes in the streets
leading from the market to the plaaa, The corners of the plaaa_are
always the seat for some Indian family selling nuts or fruits.
Another gathering place for many daily vendors is the plaaa complex
of Guadalupe. Indian craftsmanship is mainly sold to the retailers
of Guadalupe street who will sell it later to the always in-coming
tourists. These transactions can be made only, as said somewhere
else, if the Indian has been lucky enough to escape the "atajadoras."
Most of the economic activity of San Cristébal is Indian oriented
from the craft products made by the Ladinos, imported goods, and
marketing activities to the increasing tourism (Wagner 1963:
156-164).

San Cristobal's craftsmanship is not of especially good qual-
ity. Tinsmiths, candlemakers. appaaa_makers, toy makers and the
weavers of Mexicanos, among others, orient their production mainly to
the Indian market. San Cristdbal's leatherworkers are perhaps the
most influenced by tourism. As a consequence of the tourists' de-
mands, the leathermakers have created new designs and even new lines
of production such as coats. These craftsmen are also the only group

that is unionized.

74

Almost everything, necessary and unnecessary, for the Indian
household can be bought at San Cristobal. The center of the city and
the marketplace areas are conglomerates of stores of different cate-
gories competing for a limited space. Along two streets leaving from
the plaza towards the East and the West respectively, there are also
small stores socially differentiated as the street crosses the barrio's
borders.3o

Religion and commerce are closely associated. Even after the
attempt of the new church to simplify the Catholic ritual, it has
been impossible for its priests to eliminate the popular elements
incorporated by the ancestors of these non-orthodox believers. The

heavy barrio-related calendar of events provides an opportunity for

entertainment as well as for business. Tamales and aguardiente, the

 

main items sold, are not the only ones. Other food stuffs, as well
as cohetes, have a secure market in these feasts.

Religious rites of passage, like baptism, communion, confir-
mation, the fifteen year old mass marriage and velorios (funeral eve
vigil) among other events, are occasions for all day or longer par-

ties attended by members of all groups.

75

The Indians

 

On several occasions we have been speaking of the different
aspects of the Indian participation in San Cristobal's life. It is
time to define the terminology used in Chiapas with reference to the
Indians. A historico-geographical mistake ended up with the incor-
poration of the work jpgjp_in the Spanish lexicon to refer to the
indigenous peoples of America. This global term covers all the cul-
tural groups from the North Pole to Tierra del Fuego. Each of these
groups has its own name as a group and is in addition integrated by
law into its respective country. The extent to which they fully par-
ticipate in the national culture depends upon the specific cases.

The Tzotzil-Tzeltal area has about 52 communities dispersed
in the highlands of Chiapas. They are linked to each other by closely
related dialects, sets of beliefs and life habits. They are primarily
agricultural peoples and their relationships to the Ladino towns and
cities are mainly economic.

The Ladino is accepted by the Indian as being the Spanish
speaking civilized man. An Indian is for a Ladino a rustic, a witch
believer and uncivilized person. A pejorative consequence of this
description is verbalized in names such as indio bruto or 1p§jp_
pendejo (Indian boob)--rather common word combinations in the area

of our study.

76

A colloquial form between the insulting “ethnicsfree” (Pitt
Rivers 1970:26) term ipajp_and the academic, impersonal term indigena
is the term ipajap, Indito is an intermediate‘being between’the‘
irrationals and men. Men shall be understood in our context as the
Spanish speaking, European style dressed Ladino. This man is capable
of rational thought and decision making. These are the qualities
that have given him the right to dominate and order the other'inferior
beings. The others are the jagjap, women, children and subordinates.

In the Ladino's mind the jpajap_may be compared with an
immature child in its lack of maturity in reasoning (Aguirre Beltran
1967:238). The Ladino child is taught through his contact with ser-
vants that he is superior to the slow, dumb Indian. He learns to
depreciate the Indian from early age and it is not uncommon to hear a
preschool Ladino child insulting the servant as being bruto,estupido,
borrego and the like. At an early socialization stage we see in this
practice the prevalent regional pattern of domination-subordination.

Chamula and chamulita are local terms also used in a depre-
catory manner. These expressions reflect the dominant behavior with
relation to the Chamula Indians, who, if the historians are correct,
seem to have had a proud past and been a formidable enemy for the

Spanish conquerors.

77

Indito, chamula, chamulita must be seen in what are depre-
catory but not overtly insulting terms.‘ They are used in'the'pater-
nalistic style of the patron-subordinated serf relationships carried
on from colonial times.

Early in the morning, Indians from different parajes31 begin
arriving in the city from the neighboring hinterland. They come walk-
ing and carrying their heavy loads, necapal32 or load themselves
along with their products, in the trucks of the agricultural coopera-
tive of each community.

They are the floating population of San Cristébal and they
will eventually leave the city before sunset. Occasionally if they
must stay overnight, a Ladino "marchante"33 will provide them with
shelter (paaaaa). Epaaaa_is a traditional economic relationship
between a Ladino family and an Indian. It may extend itself over
generations and very often an Indian will request ppaaga_at the house
of his father's marchante. The Ladino woman will assign him a place
to sleep, usually the corridor or the kitchen. We must not forget
that even in the ritual kinship relationships (as compadrazgo) between
an Indian and a Ladino, the Indian will still be inferior.

In return to showing a "good heart," the Ladino woman will
get priority and a better price on the Indian's merchandise. The

Indian feels obligated to his marchante and is very happy to have a

78

secure shelter for the night and a safe place to leave his belong-
ings while in town.

Apart from commerce, health care, land-related problems and
similar affairs, many Indians, especially the young men, take the
opportunity of having a bath at the health center facilities or in
any of the privately owned public bath houses, or to go to the movies

and sporting events.

Where Ladino and Indian Worlds Meet

The rules of the game in the relationship between the Hinter-
land and the City, between the Indian and the Ladino worlds, are
better understood when we follow Aguirre Beltran (1967) in his con-
ceptualization of the "Region of Refuge" and the mechanisms the
manorial city applies in order to maintain its privileged position.

A region de refugio (region of refuge) is formed by the
Indian communities organized around a manorial city. A generally
adverse ecology complements this picture (Aguirre Beltran 1967:38).

As mentioned previously, San Cristobal was founded as a Ciudad
Real. Its purpose was the dominance and control over the Hinterland.

This domination was to be exercised with the aid of the so called

79

"mecanismos dominicales" (domination mechanisms).' According to

Aquirre, these mechanisms can be summarized as follows:

a.

A 1egally_sanctioned racial segregation. The castes are
spatially segregated. The dominant groups live in the city,
the others in the hinterland. These two groups are in a
relationship of super-subordination. Although at the
national level the members of the dominated groups are
entitled to legally recognized nationality and equality, at
the regional level they are segregated by anachronistic caste-
1ike relationships.

If you behave as an Indian, then you are an Indian. The
more a group or individual tries to maintain its own ethnic
identity, the more segregated it is. Cultural segregation
must be viewed as different from racial segregation, which
forbids a Negro to sit down in a restaurant reserved for
whites. In San Crist6bal it would be possible to see an
Indian participating in practically every activity in which
a Ladino may participate. But he will at least have to act
as a Ladino and enjoy Ladino dance, music, cafes, and so on.
He must be able to understand at least a minimum of
"castilla" (castellano, Spanish) in order to understand what

is really going on. He must follow the Ladino rules of the

80

game, if he wants to participate. Otherwise, he will just
attend a Ladino performance but never fully participate.

The pressure to impose Ladino behavior and values is
not found solely in the city. If this were the case, we
could accept it as another instance of "When in Rome do as
the Romans do." On the contrary, Ladino culture is sent to
the hinterland to "educate" the Indians; but this culture is
brought there by individuals who hardly know the basic ele-
ments of instruction. This is especially true of the rural
teacher. As an example of mecanismo dominical (Aguirre
Beltran 1967), such system acts to maintain the traditional
awkwardness of the poor indios brutos. The theoretically
bilingual education is designed to make the Indian child fail.
The Ladino "teacher" does not understand his language,
neither does the Indian child have any knowledge of the Ladino
language. After continued failures, the child leaves school
with the complete acquiescence of his parents. According to
the law, education is free for all citizens, but this does
not seem to apply in the hinterland. There, the price for
the Indian child is too high to pay.

Sooner or later these hinterland children will be con-

fronted with the city. They will not understand it, but

81

curiosity will move them to stay and find out about the
Ladino ways. They will increase“the”number‘of'unskilied
laborers living in the peripherial sectors,'undergoing the
painful process of ladinization, because in Chiapas to be a

Ladino is the only successful way to become a man.

Political control exercised by the dominant group, This
control is based upon the theory that "the natives are
incapable of self—government" (Aguirre Beltran 1967:13).
When by chance a political leader_develops he will immedi-
ately be sentenced and failed (Aguirre Beltran 1967:13).

For a regional leader, jail is a good solution, as in the
case of Antonio,34 a most powerful and charismatic leader of
the Chamulas. Accused of a murder he did not commit, he was
taken away from the political arena and replaced by a more

manageable individual.

Economic Dependence. Based upon the denial of rationality
to the Indian economic orientation (Aguirre Beltran 1967:13).
the economic dependence of the Indian is basically maintained
through two mechanisms. The first is migratory work. This
consists mainly in the transfer of workers from the subsis-

tence sphere to an economy of salary; its immediate

82

consequence is destroying the cohesion of the Indian family,
which in the subsistence economy is an integrated unit of
production.

The salaries are based on a theory of limited needs of
the Indians.35 Thus the Ladino find justification to pay
limited salaries not in consonance with the real value of the

Indian work. El enganche36 and the role of the dominical

 

city as a source of labor itself are the practical aspects
of this migratory work mechanism.

The second mechanism, in close relationship to the first,
is the existence of usurious credit, which forces the Indian

to accept the conditions of the enganchador, in order.to pay

 

his ever increasing debts. This usurious credit system does
not wait for the Indian to come to San Cristébal and apply
for it. It is introduced into the community by the Ladino

merchants living in the rural villages.

Unqual treatment. Health services, education, legal rights
and so forth, are more readily available to members of the

dominant groups than they are to the subordinated.

Maintenance of the Social Distance limits the contact be-

tween the groups to stereotyped situations and behaviors.

83

An Evangelization Action. As in the case of LaS‘CasaS‘it
serves a different purpose than the egalitarian one of the
Christian theory, becoming instead an instrument for domina-
tion (Aguirre Beltran 1967:16).

The basis for survival of these societies is in the
maintenance of controls like dominance-subordination in rela-
tionship to the agricultural and artisan surrounding soci-
eties.

The framework provided by Aguirre Beltran suggests a
possible application, in terms of the relationships of
dominance-subordination within the city, between the center
and the periphery. The center of the city is the Ladino
stronghold. As the city still maintains its traditional
urban and socioeconomical pattern, the center it is not only
the business, but also the residential and the recreational
center. The periphery is the place where the subordinates
classes (Indians included), live, work and practice their
trade. By looking at their relationships in terms of the
dominical pattern, we may suggest the existence of an in-city

dominical mechanism.

CHAPTER III

THE BEGGARS OF SAN CRISTOBAL

The Sample

 

During my fieldwork I obtained basic information on 76 beg-
gars. This is similar to the sample reported by Fabrega (1971:
278-280), which possibly indicates that an average of 80 beggars may
be found regularly on the streets of San Cristébal. As in Fabrega's
research, male beggars were predominant in my sample, being sixty-
eight percent of the interviewed population. Furthermore, sixty one
percent of the male beggars were under fifty years old, while only
twenty percent of the women fell in that age category.

Forty six percent of the beggars in the sample were Indians.
Regarding ethnic affiliation, it is my opinion that ethnic stratifi-
cation, otherwise important in the social relationships in San
Crist6bal, is not significant in the beggars as a group. To support
this opinion, we have to note that even though the social relation-
ships among beggars are largely limited to occasional encounters,
there is no evidence that interaction is limited to the beggar's own
ethnic group. Also, there is no evidence to suggest restricted areas

84

85

where Indian or Ladino beggars would operate to the exclusion of the
other ethnic group. Finally, when dealing with the subject of pity
for beggars, it seems that the ethnic affiliation of the beggars is
not an important issue for the donors of San Cristébal in allocating
their alms. This doesn't exclude the fact that a beggar usually
defines himself as an Indian or a Ladino, whatever the case.

Sixty six percent of the total beggar's population are handi-
capped by a physical defect, age or illness. The rest are able-
bodied, e.g. physically able to work, but have selected to beg
instead.

Fifty-four percent of the San Cristébal beggars are full-
time beggars. This means that they beg regularly on a more or less
fixed schedule as the only way of making a living. Among the part-
time beggars we find some of the alcoholic beggars (25% of the total

sample), and the cargadores (load carriers).

Able-Bodied Beggars

I found nineteen able-bodied male under 50, who made begging
their profession (see page 33). Of these, twelve were Ladinos
and seven were Indians. There are only one Indian and four Ladino

women under 50 in the able-bodied category. Within the able-bodied

86

category we have alcoholic beggars, mendigos vergpnzantes and load

carriers.

The Alcoholic Beggars

We may differentiate two main categories of alcoholic beg-
gars: full time beggars who are concomitantly alcoholic, and those
who become beggars during their drinking periods only.

Most alcoholic beggars belong to the latter category. They
beg only during their drinking periods, and return to their former
jobs afterwards. While considering alcoholism as an illness, I have
nevertheless included the subjects into the able-bodied category,
since most of them can, and often do, perform tasks requiring physical
effort. Some of them actually do work during periods of abstinence,
but turn to begging only in brief intermediate phases.

The full-time alcoholic beggars are individuals who once had
some trade, but the degree of physical and/or psychological depen-
dence on alcohol was such that it made them unable to keep a steady
job. Others, who can still work, take part-time, non-specialized
jobs and become part-time beggars.

All in all, most of the alcoholics are only able to abstain

for short periods of time; once they begin drinking again, they are

87

unable to control the quantity of intake and the duration of the
drinking period. These drinking periods are called “la carrera"
(the race), or "e1 viaje" (the trip). When they are "racing" or
"travelling," beggars stay inside or around illegal drinking places
or bars ("cantinas") most of the time. The alcoholic beggars iden-
tified in this study get together in about 16 cantinas which form a I
belt around the central barrios of the city. These clandestine places
are different from the legally established ones in that only cus-
tomers known by the proprietor are allowed in to drink.
Professional, full-time beggars share these cantinas with
others who only beg when drunk and in need of money to continue the
"trip." Most alcoholic beggars are Ladinos with the exception of
one man--the only Zinacanteco known to beg in San Cristébal.
Alcoholic beggars do not move around the city as many other
beggars do. Most of them stay in the areas where they are known.
Only occasionally are they seen in El Centro. "The good people who
care" give them money and perhaps food. Most of them can get food
at particular households where they have found patrons. Whatever
money they make is spent on liquor, called "_aagpf (drink), almost
always a very strong distillation of grain or cane. The source of
trago for most of the illegal cantinas are the Indians who are cor-

nered (atajados) by bar owners and intermediaries (see note on

88

atajadoras, Chapter 2, footnote l6 ). A glass of trago may cost any-

 

where between forty centavos to one peso, depending on the quality of
the liquor and the water dilution. An average daily expenditure in
those cantinas amounts to approximately 4.50 pesos. The largest
amount ever spent by a customer there has been, to my best knowledge,
about ten pesos. As a trip may last from three to forty five days,
the amount of money spent tends to be high, considering that the beg-
gar makes about ten pesos on a "good" day.

Friendship is based upon drinking comradeship and this is a
big point of differentiation among the alcoholic and the non-alcoholic
beggars. Drunkards get together in fixed locations and stick to
selected drinking partners. There is plenty of conversation in the
cantina as opposed to the silent atmosphere and isolation of the beg-
gars sharing the same posada. The recurrent themes in these conver-
sations revolve around overcoming last night's hangover and intending
to return to work tomorrow. To the alcoholic subculture, a hangover
is best cured by drinking. Given this pattern, the cure turns into
a new hangover and the process becomes a circular problem.

Non-alcoholic beggars get together for a drink occasionally.
Sometimes on a good day when several friends find themselves under
the same shelter, they would take a break from the daily routine of

isolation . . . "I talk to my friends Jose Chamula, Pedro Chamula,

89

the old lame Ladino and Julio Chamula . . . . How are you? How
much did you make today? . . . . Are you going to spend some for a
drink? . . . . We go and drink and then we talk. We are friends,"
says Julio Segundo Chamula.

On other days they buy a quart37 of liquor and drink it alone,

before going to sleep.

Los Mendiggs Vergonzantes

Another group of beggars to be included into the able-bodied

category are 105 mendigos vergonzantes. They could be defined as

 

those who, ashamed to beg openly, live on the charity of the people
who know them. As opposed to the alcoholics, this category is mostly
composed of women, some of whom are closely associated with open,
full-time beggars. It seems interesting to note that these relation-
ships are usually of a consanguine nature, such as mother-daughter,
aunt-nephew and the like; the older generation is vergonzante, while
the younger tend to beg more openly. This group of beggars are also
predominantly Ladino, as was the case with the alcoholics.

As mentioned before, silence surrounds this subject and makes
it difficult to study. It was possible, however, to identify several

cases of vergonzantes living on friends' charity, or the help of

9O

schoolmates and relatives. One of these persons, Carmela, used to
receive about 47.00 pesos weekly, plus food and clothing, from two
relatives, two ex-schoolmates and a long time friend.

In some cases the vergonzante will do some occasional work,
as was the case with the late mother of Leonor. She took occasional
jobs as laundress, or did some ironing. She made about seventeen
pesos a week. She also used to receive clothing and food from her
clients. This supplemented the help she was given by friends and
relatives and helped her believe that she was not a beggar. Then,
after she died, her daughter Leonor became a full time beggar.
People who knew both women used to criticize Leonor for her "lack of
pride," but continued giving her alms.

The vergonzantes may not be truly beggars; nevertheless, from

 

an economic point of view, they have selected a style of life and
earning which is on the borderline with professional begging. They
survive as parasites of a social class which, in order to maintain
its prestige keeps them hidden from the eyes of outsiders. Thus most
people of San Cristébal are aware of the existence of the vergonzantes
as a category, but few are able to identify them.

For the purpose of this study they shall only be mentioned as
part of the general typology of beggars. It remains for further

inquiries to focus on this aspect exclusively.

91

The Load Carriers (Cargadores)

 

The next category of able-bodied beggars to be discussed here
are the load carriers (cargadores). They are part-time beggars: men
and women who carry groceries from the market to the buyer's house.
They accept tips for their services, making an average of two pesos
a day. In the afternoon, after the rush at the market has ceased,
or on their way to the market to get a new customer, they beg in
order to meet their daily expenses. Some of these people begin load-
ing early in their lives and keep on being cargadores for as long
as they are able to.

I only spoke to cargadores who begged overtly. Nevertheless,
it could be said that the whole occupational category is on the
borderline of begging. The limited income, the randomness of the jobs
and irregularity of payments, and also the fact that the carriers do
not place value on their work, but accept whatever the customer
offers, establishes a definite similarity between their, the gapga:
appaa' existence, and the life of our subjects, the beggars. There
is one subgroup in this category which enjoys an economic position
better than most carriers. These cargadores have small carts and
negotiate the payment with customers ahead of time. They work for

the stores, at bus stops and also in the market. They do place a

92

definite value on the service they offer, which differentiates them
from the rest of their fellow carriers.

All in all, most of the carriers beg only occasionally, and
will not be considered as beggars for the purpose of this study.

In our sample of beggar-cargadores, we have found only three distinct

 

cases running against the general trend of being a carrier first and
a beggar only second: Maria Ladina, Juanita Chamula and Gregorio
Ladino, all three of whom are professional beggars and also part-time
carriers.

The carriers of grass and garden soil are also candidates for
the category of part-time begging. They live on the edges of the
city and pick up grass and soil for door-to-door sale. They alter-
nate this trade with begging. Finally, a "part-timer" could be any-
one alternating begging with another trade, or working in the field,
i.e. any of the pappa§_(non-specialized day laborers).

Thus, it will appear that any person could become a beggar if
the opportunity presented itself.

Let us now see who the able-bodied beggars of San Crist6bal
are, through some of their own case stories.

1. Elias Ladino, agg 55, alcoholic, full time beggar.
Elias Ladino has been drinking for eighteen years in

his 55 years of life. He is married and has nine children,

93

some of whom are grown up enough to take care of their mother.
He lives with his wife, but begs for his food and drinking
money. "I don't like to bother the aapppa_with my problems.
People who know me give me twenty, forty, fifty centavos . . .
sometimes un peso.“ He says that people give him this because
he is well educated. And indeed he is very polite. He gets
his regular meals at the houses of two well known Sancris-

tobalenses, where he is well treated (considerado). When he

 

has enough money to treat, he offers a drink to Julio Ladino.
"Julio is an old man. I respect him because he is an old
man; that's why I invite him."

La Cantina (bar), is a place for friendship and good pur-

 

pose. The conversation which follows is an example of both.
"I'm getting cured maestro.38 See how bad I look today

with this hangover. Look, I'm even vomiting. That's why

I'm having these drinks." Courteously, Mario offers a drink

to “e1 maestro." "That's how life is. One has to get cured

 

before going to work. Right, Joselin?" Joselin nods, "I'm
getting cured too, to see if I can work." Joselin asks the
barman to serve him two pesos worth of food.

"It's good that you are getting cured, brother" inter-

venes el GUero (the Blond). "Yes, sure," answers Joselin,

94

as he receives a glass offered by e1 Gfiero. Agustin Zina-

canteco asks for a glass too. "Well, I would like to have a
drink, but, I haven't worked to get the money for the cure."
E1 Guero gives him a drink. "Have some, man, and go on with
the cure . . . ."

Mariano was waiting for a chance to continue arguing with
the group, as he was doing before the above conversation took
place. "What's going on here?" he says. "What do you mean?"
Agustin looks up at him. "I want a drink," says Mariano
insolently. "What's stopping you from having one?" "I don't
have any money," insists Mariano. "Then Work!" comes the
final remark of Agustin, the beggar.

The argument does not develop into a quarrel as e1 maestro
invites everybody to come outside and have their picture
taken. All the participants in the group join for a toast to
e1 maestro who, they say, is a "good man and a good friend."

Conversations of that kind occurring in and around the
cantinas illustrate the choice of partners and the invariable
theme of getting cured and going back to work. Photographic
evidence showing the human landscape around the cantina in
the morning after such a conversation is a demonstration of

the vicious circle these people follow. None of the good

95

intentions stated the previous evening are accomplished (Fig.
No. 4). On the contrary, as soon as they wake up, they will
return to their drinking place, perhaps stopping to beg on

the way, in order to get some money.

Rosaura Ladino, age 25,_vergonzante.

Rosaura comes from a respectable family. Her father was
a prosperous merchant and her elder brothers went to college
and became professionals. Her sister is said to have made a
good marriage. When Rosaura had "the failure“39 she was
still in high school. As a consequence, she had to leave the
city and deliver her baby far from the place where she was
known. This incident precluded the possibility for a good
marriage, yet the only training she ever had was in the direc-
tion of becoming a housewife and perhaps a good mother. Stud-
ies going further than preparatory school were never in her
or her family's plans. Thus Rosaura found herself in need
for work while having none of the qualifications required for
the jobs she aspired to. She did her best. After all,
nobody knew the social background of the little laundress.
The job was hard and the money insufficient. She went back
to San Cristébal to live on the property she inherited from

her mother. Here, in her own city, it was more difficult to

96

 

Fig. 4.--"The human landscape around the cantina . . . ."

97

work as she was never dressed well enough to get out and ask
for a "decent job."

By a decent job she still means what she meant when she
ran away. She cannot offer an exact definition, but her
friends and neighbors take it to mean any white collar work.
Friends are willing to help until that "decent job" material-
izes. They provide for the woman and her child; their help
and the occasional help of her family keeps her from the
stigma of working at some job which would not correspond to
her social level. The problem remains, however, that in the
meantime she is not getting the training needed for the jobs

considered good for her.

;

Maria Ladina, age 28, cargadora and beggar.

Maria worked in a house as a servant since she was
brought from her papaja as a child. Later, she got married,
had a child and had to start working when her husband died.
When I met her, she had been carrying loads in the market for
about 11 years. She does not consider herself a beggar, but
she attends regularly the Rosary meetings and other people in
the neighborhood look upon her as a beggar. Most of the

time one could agree with her self-image, i.e. she does not

98

beg; rather, she accepts what other people give her. As a
matter of fact, many full time beggars refuse to accept the
label of beggar for that very same reason, they do not ask,

they only accept whatever they are given.

Yayita Chamula, age 30, beggar and cargadora.

Yayita comes from a distant hinterland center, on the
frontier with the woods. She has been in San Cristobal since
adolescence. She was married to a man 30 years older than
herself and had twin girls. Then her husband and the
daughters died. "That's why my heart is sad." He was an
enterpreneur beggar and a good man. Together they walked all
over the city, and on Friday they had some money to save.

He didn't go to the bank himself. Instead, he asked his
former patron to put the money in the bank. One day, tempted
by a good prospective investment, he went to his patron and
asked him to withdraw the money. Nobody knows exactly what
happened afterwards. Perhaps, in between drinks he talked

too much. On his way home he was attacked, robbed and killed.
Now she lives alone. She gets shelter in Mexicanos. There
was no reason to go back to her town. She was used to begging
and says it was not that bad after all. She also carries

bundles from the market once in a while, but she is mainly a

99

a beggar. She speaks some Spanish but still wears her Indian
dress. She is young and healthy, "people are of good heart"

and she makes a fairly good living.

Handicapped Beggars

In our context, physical handicap and age are two legitimate
reasons for begging, accepted by beggars and non-beggars as well.
"You cannot work any longer so it is not shameful to beg. You are
too feeble and cannot make any effort." This, according to a fifty-
six year old beggar, was the advice a physician gave her when she
still worked as a laundress. Other informants express in various
ways the same idea: to beg is a right for the aged and the disabled.

Forty seven per cent of our sample is over age fifty. This
age was selected as a demarcation point between the young and the
aged, based upon informants' opinion that after fifty a person has
lost the physical strength and energy to work efficiently and
steadily.

Twenty five per cent of our beggars have some physical defect.
We shall divide these physically handicapped beggars into two sub-
groups. The first group includes beggars unable to walk or move

well, such as the paralytic, the lame, the maimed or any crippling

100

ABLE BODIED BEGGARS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
LADINO INDIAN INDIAN LADINO
YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
LADINO LADINO INDIAN INDIAN
ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC

(BEGGAR (BEGGAR, (BEGGAR (BEGGAR
FULL TIME) FULL TIME) FULL TIME) FULL TIME
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
LADINO LADINO INDIAN INDIAN
ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC ALCOHOLIC

(BEGGAR (BEGGAR (BEGGAR (BEGGAR
PART TIME) PART TIME) PART TIME) PART TIME)

MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
LADINO LADINO INDIAN INDIAN
PART TIME PART TIME PART TIME PART TIME
BEGGAR BEGGAR BEGGAR BEGGAR
CARGADOR PEON CARGADORA LAUNDRESS

Empty Cells = No Identified Cases Available.

 

 

zwary
cm

   

TM”? Emmy Emmy
CELL CE“— CELL

   

Fig. 5.--Able—bodied Beggars.

102

of the kind. The second group includes beggars with eyesight prob-
lems, e.g., the blind and the semi-blind. Both types share in common
their inability to obtain or to perform available work.

Table No. 4 shows the distribution of our sample according to

age and physical handicap.

The Elderly

The view that age is in itself a passport to begging mani-
fests itself on Table No. 4: fourteen male and sixteen female beg—
gars (or roughly 40% of the sample) have age, over 50, as their only
handicap.

Case stories suggest that age is related in many cases to the
lack of a patron or family of one's own to rely upon. Loneliness
thus emerges as an important factor in becoming a beggar, for the
Ladino as well as for the Indian. When age or physical handicaps are
added to the lack of a partner or family, then begging is a socially
acceptable solution.

Ricardo Pozas (1959) describes the strong cohesion and inter-
dependence among Chamula marriage partners. It is difficult for a
solitary individual to survive socially and economically within the

community. He must either build a new marriage association, or move

103

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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104

back to the extended family through any of the mechanisms provided.
In some cases the individual may migrate to the city, possibly for-
ever. In many cases this move is the ante chamber for begging.

San Cristobal has two nursing homes, which are quite reminis-
cent of asylums according to beggars' descriptions. One of the nurs-
ing homes is run by five nuns. It is a neat place with provisions
to take care of twenty-five elderly people. At the time this study
was being conducted, the establishment had admitted about twenty
people. All but five were women. "Men do not like being locked
in," remarked the nun as she was explaining the closed-doors regime
at the nursing home. The occupants can go out only twice a week.
Most of them are beggars who were taken to the place by people that
found them in the street. They are in advanced stages of senility
or quite physically ill. Those who are able to move by themselves
usually leave the place as soon as they feel a bit better.

The State asylum's facilities are not quite as good as the
nun's establishment. The rooms are large, arid, almost bare, the
walls show leftovers of what was once wallpaint. They open to a
defoliated patio where the inmates sit and let the time go by under
the sun. The general atmosphere in the place is depressing. The
State asylum can also accommodate about twenty-five people. They

come and go freely as their physical condition would allow.

105

Outside the asylum, the older beggars have created a whole
mythology about the life inside the nursing homes, based upon the
stories of those who have been lucky to come back into the-trade.

It is believed that "they kill the little old people in there," that
"they give you food only when you are about to faint with weakness."
"They scold us so much, they called me dirty, stinky and don't give
enough food." These and other terrible happenings worry the old

men who prefer the continued wandering on their own, rather than
accept being confined within the asylums. The same beliefs are shared
in regard to regular hospitals, especially the hospitals run by nuns.
So, the beggars prefer to seek medical assistance as ambulatory
patients at the Health Center or with the physicians on duty in La

Cabana, if they are Indians.

The Physically Handicapped

Twenty-five percent of the sample were physically handi-
capped beggars. The most common defects are related to the ability
to walk or move. Nevertheless, if we were to classify beggars as
ambulatory or stationary, we find that in spite of their physical
handicap, most beggars in San Cristobal are mobile. This means that

rather than remaining in fixed spots and waiting for prospective

106

donors, they would walk all over the city in search for them. The
beggars refer to their ambulatory activities in an accordingly illus-
trative manner; they say, "I am going to take a walk" whenever they
prepare to go to work. Somewhere along the way they may sit down and
rest; actually they continue begging while resting. Even those beg-
gars who, due to physical handicap, cannot walk long distances, do
alternate short paaap§_(promenades) of five or ten blocks with rest-
ing periods in between.

We find that physically handicapped beggars are a male group,
with the exception of Juana Chamula, whose story we shall cover later
on. So, we could explore the suggestion that many activities per-
formed by men are more likely to cause crippling accidents and pre-
vent them from continuing on the jobs they used to do. A society
like the one we are concerned with does not provide many alternatives
for these men, in selecting a new form of economic activity; thus
begging emerges as a most frequent solution for them. Besides men
with acguired handicaps, the above proposition should also be valid
with regard to beggars pppp_handicapped.

For illustrative purposes we shall next present a case story
of a physically handicapped beggar, based on his own statements.

Pedro Chamula, age 40, lame. Pedro is an example of an

ambulatory beggar. Only in the extreme case, When the pain in his

107

legs is too strong, will he remain stationary. Thus even when his
paralyzed legs hardly support his body, he manages to walk an average
of twenty blocks round trip. Ten blocks one-way is the farthest he
can go. He walks this far only on days when he feels all right.

Then he reaches the Parque and turns south to the Health Center,
returning by the same route.

The street where Pedro lives is on the edge of La Merced
pappip, There is no pavement and when it rains it is almost impos-
sible to cross from one side to the other. La Merced is a good
barrio, one of the best in town. Most of the people living there
have houses and good food. Some of them have two cars parked in
front of the house. But, to get to the good section, Pedro has to
cross his own street, where walking is difficult because of the many
pot holes and the uneven terrain. Walking has always been a diffi-
cult task for Pedro anyway. Each step forward is an effort. First
he pushes his crutch a few inches forward, then his foot will follow.
The other crutch moves next, and finally the other foot. It takes
a long time to advance one yard.

Still, he manages to smile at the few people who are walking
to their jobs at that time in the morning. Actually, Pedro is always

smiling, and the smile lights up his tired and dark face. "Estoy

108

jodido pues" (Well, I'm ruined), he repeats sadly. But that is a
fact and nothing can be done about it.

It was not always like that. When he was a child in his
papaja_"there in the hills," he spent the morning working in the
fields. In the afternoons he played marbles with the other children.
He even went to school for four years, but didn't learn too much—-
just the five vowels.

"We were six children," his two elder brothers, the older
sister, Pedro and the younger children. "When I was two, my father
was killed. My mother went to live with another man, but after three
years she also died. Later on, when our step father also died, we
(the children) were left alone." His father never married his mother.
That is why Pedro prefers to use his mother's surname.

At 21, he married Juana. He lived with her for eighteen
years until he could no longer care for her and their children. The
last four years of their life together were bad. He had an accident
and his legs began to lose strength day after day. They spent all
their money on curers and medicine. They even went to the Ladino
doctor and spent 50 pesos on medicine, but nothing helped. His wife
stayed and took care of him for a year. "But," he says, "a woman
wants the man to take care of her needs. If I were healthy I would

have my woman; since I'm screwed, nobody loves me."

109

He does not beg, "I receive whatever the people give me."
He knows where to go for lunch, and where to get his tortilla. Every-
day he walks along Mazariegos street towards E1 Parque. It takes a
long time to arrive at the candy store where he gets his lunch. He
must sit down for a rest several times before he finally arrives at
his destination. Finally, with good luck, he will be there by 11:00
A.M. in the morning. These are good days, and he can eat properly.
In the evening he returns to his posada by walking Guadalupe street.
He stops in the refreshment store by the cinema and the girl there
gives him some food. Food was one thing he did not like when he was
at the hospital. That was years ago. It was not good because they
gave him only three tortillas to eat. "I don't get full with three
tortillas. I eat a lot.“ The only thing he wanted was to get his
medicine-and not to stay there. It was different in La Cabafia
(colloquial name of the Instituto Nacional Indigenista headquarters).
He spent fifteen days over there. "They treat the peOple well over
there." But he didn't get cured either. That was when he returned to
his village.

Now he goes back to the village once in a while. There he
stays two, three weeks, sometimes a month. But he must return to

the city. The people in the village are poor and it is difficult for

110

him to get food or money. Here in the city he can at least buy some
food, and once in a while, a quart of apagp at his posada.

Sometimes he feels very bad. His legs hurt too much and he
cannot walk at all, so he must stay at the posada. That is not good;
he has no friends there. He talks with the other limosneritos,40 but
they are not friends like the ones he has at his village. He feels
lonely and helpless. Even when he has some food, he cannot cook his
own dinner. "That's why I asked through the Department (Office of
Indian Affairs) to get my eldest son to come and help me. I have
three children alive, a boy and two girls. I had five, but the other
two are dead . . . . The Department rejected my petition." His
wife has a brother "who is a school teacher and both of them lied,"
saying that he hit the woman and the children. Now all the children
are with her in what used to be his land on the hills. "Perhaps she
has another man. How can I know?" Even when he goes to the village,
he is not able to walk up and see them.

When he gets some money, he can buy medicine. He drinks two
drops in a glass of water and that helps to stop the pain.41 When
he feels better, he can try and climb the stairs to the church. He
likes to go and pray. He believes in God. "We are all Christians,"
he says, "Indians, Ladinos, we are all the same. All poor. Never-

theless there are bad people, those who treat the Indian badly."

111

And when he falls down in the street, those people would not stop
and help him. He smiles sadly. "I'm screwed. How am I going to get

better?"

The Ill

As mentioned before, illness appears in most cases as part
of a general picture of handicap. Juana Chamula illustrates such
a case.

Juana Chamula, age 23, mentally disabled and paralytic. The
hardships of a physical handicap, stagnated mental development and an
incipient alcoholism may produce a condition of extreme human misery
difficult to overcome. The story of Juana Chamula is case in point.
She is twenty three years old. When she was a child, an evil spell
"was cast upon her legs." Already ill, she came to San Cristébal to
beg. Nobody gave her the idea to beg. "It just occurred to me."

She did not even speak the language of the Ladinos. Now I work hard,
walking all day with the aid of the stick, and collecting money to
buy milk for the little baby." The woman who gives her posada takes
care of the child, she also manages all that Juana earns.

Juana does not remember who was the man that "did her wrong"

the last time. Actually, she never knew who he was. She did not

112

know who it was the first time, either.' She gave away the-first
child to a Ladino woman. The second child she kept; supporting it
now the best she can. Sometimes she takes the baby with her during
the day. Life is hard, so once in a while she gets herself a glass
of t:agg_in the nearby cantina. She smiles at the memories of good
moments in the past. “Life is hard" but she will never consider~
the idea of working for anybody. "The way things are is good enough
for me. No. I wouldn't work for anybody else." She likes being
free the way it is now. After all, “the people are good to me."
They give her money for milk and for herself. Both men and women
are helpful. They give tostones,42 but "the best people are the
gringos, they give paapa,“ The worst people are those in her home
town. They don't give.

The idea that the papaja is a bad place for soliciting is
shared by most beggars, along with the idea of avoiding, whenever
possible, begging on the edges of the city. The reason is that people
in both places are so poor themselves that they have nothing to give
away. Nevertheless, there are some beggars who hold the opposite
view, saying that just because people are poor, they can be more com-
passionate with the poor beggars. In terms of the philosophy that
where two can eat, there is room for a third, this may be a correct

interpretation. In any case, the predominant use of the city by most

HANDICAPPED BEGGARS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LADINO INDIAN INDIAN LADINO
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
PHYSICAL PHYSICAL PHYSICAL PHYSICAL
HANDICAP HANDICAP HANDICAP HANDICAP’
LADINO INDIAN INDIAN LADINO
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
AGED AGED AGED AGED
LADINO INDIAN INDIAN LADINO
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
ILL ILL ILL ILL
LADINO INDIAN INDIAN LADINO
MALE MALE FEMALE FEMALE
ILL ILL ILL ILL
(ASYLUM) (ASYLUM) (ASYLUM) (ASYLUM)

Empty Cell = No Identifiable Cases Available.

 

114

    

{AHVy
(EA?

EMPTy
CELL

 

Fig. 6.--Handicapped Beggars.

115

beggars indicates that they concentrate in more affluent sectors,

or where food is obviously available, as we shall discuss later on.

The Occasional Beggar

Before closing this chapter we should mention the occasional
beggars, even though they are not the subject of this study. That
is, occasional beggars do not fall into the category of professional
beggars, as defined previously by us; but they certainly give expres-
sion to some latent tendency to begging behavior, easily brought to
the surface by stimuli such as the tourist, the foreigner in town, or
special events like the fair. Sometimes, what started as a funny
game turns into a profession, as in the case of Rolando Ladino:

"When I was about six or seven years old, I began working as
a shoe shine boy. It was at that same age when I found out how easy
it was to beg alms from people. I started going to the cinemas,
bars, restaurants and the hotel. Whenever the hotel manager would
scorn me, I would cling to the Americans for protection and money.

I was a very annoying little thing."

Rolando, who described his childhood in this manner, was

attacked by poliomelitis at the age of two. He became an invalid.

Soon he learned to move by himself using his arms, which became very

116

strong. Later he was given a cart by the Lyon's Club. The cart was
very important to his life. It gave him freedom over his disabled
legs, it gave him speed and it was the symbol of his power over the
other children who used to wander around with him. He learned to
beg just because it was easy and it was fun. "I did not ask for alms
given with pity, I was insolent . . . . 'Will you give me my aiaaa?‘
Ya pues, arreéme mi_guinto!' . . . . Usually they did not only give
a pjppp, but a paap, And if they did not give me anything I felt
somehow angry. I guess I thought it was their duty to give. I never
said thank you, anyway . . . ."
For the occasional beggar, the transition to full-time beg-
ging is only a matter of time and energy dedicated to the trade plus
the presence or absence of another factor--a job, any other job.

Thus several full time beggars who state that they do not beg every

day but stay at home "descansando" (resting) most of the week, are

 

undoubtedly full time beggars since the trade is their only source

of income.

CHAPTER IV

THE BEGGAR'S TRADE

The Daily Routine

Twenty-nine beggars in the sample go to work every single day.
Five of the seventy-six beggars take a rest on Sunday, while five work
only on weekends. The remaining thirty-seven work irregularly: these
are mostly part-time beggars, including the alcoholics and the load
carriers.

In terms of their time schedule, forty percent of the beggars
work all day, while the remaining go out into the streets irregularly,
either in the mornings or in the afternoons.

An average work schedule begins early in the morning. The
exact time will vary with the season of the year and the age of the
beggar.

Let's follow some of our beggars in their work.

l--Mjguel Chamula is twenty-seven years old, half blind, with

 

a defect in his left foot. He says "I always walk down about nine in
the morning, because it's too cold earlier than that. I begin to walk
back home about five or six. I go to bed around eight, after having

117

118

eaten my tortilla." Miguel Chamula's schedule is not very different
from the one most other beggars have. Neither is his appearance. The
once-white hat that protects his head is a part of the outfit most
male beggars wear. The same can be said about his walking stick and
the bag or mappal, hanging from his shoulder. All these elements are
important and useful accessories when one's trade involves walking
all day long under the sun or in the rain, collecting items for future
consumption. Women beggars wear a shawl that could serve as a head-
cover, a robe, or a carrying bag.

Miguel Chamula walks barefoot. Most Indians, including
non-beggars, walk barefoot. He lives in a posada in the east side
of the city. During weekdays he walks regularly to El Pargue and
then goes for a few blocks south to the bus stop. This is a preferred
spot for beggars. People coming and going from the nearby towns always
give five or ten centavos. The corner is busy. Across the street,
where the bus stops, vendors are crowding up, offering food to the
travellers. The small plaza of the San Francisco Church is close by.
Manuel and other beggars come to the stop, sit down and rest, waiting
for alms.

As mentioned previously, most beggars will insist that they do
not beg. This is partially true in that they don't verbalize request.

Rather they act solely by their somewhat appealing presence. Even when

119

begging in the stores, they solicit more by sheer presence, rather than
making a formal request. In many cases they don't even have to enter
the store. At the sight of the beggar the storekeeper often comes out
with the money ready in hand.

Miguel is one of the few beggars using specific request in
order to obtain his coins. After resting at the bus stop, he goes back
to E1 Parque and starts begging from the vendors on the sidewalk. He
approaches them one by one and stretches his hand (Figure 7). The
vendors would drop a few cents in his palm, or give him cookies and
candy out of their stock. When someone ignores his presence, Miguel
just remains there, his hand stretched out, his head, bending down
reinforces the appealing gesture, with the eyes raised up toward the
donor-to—be. A year ago he broke his foot and now has problems walking
long distances. He comes to San Cristobal every other month, stays
until he makes enough money to buy food for the family, and then goes
back to the payaga: While begging, he eats whatever people give him.
That's how he saves money to buy corn and other food to take back home.
He is able to collect about 2-3 pesos in a week. Then comes the week-
end, which is different. On Saturady he goes to the stores, "The
young ladies's hearts are good, they give more." Old people also give,

but sometimes they will tell him to go to work.

120

      

a S

Fig. 7.——“He approaches them one by one and stretches his hand."

121

Most beggars go to the market at least once a week. The gen-
eralized pattern of begging at the market is very much the same as at
the stores. The beggar stands in front of the counter and waits. When
the seller has finished with her customers and has a free moment, she
will give him some food, salt, a bunch of bones to make soup, an apple
or the like. Very seldom the vendor and the beggar would exchange a
few words; most of the time the transaction goes on in silence.

2——Jgan Lagjgo is considered by his peers as a very successful
beggar. Organization seems to be the key for his success. He is 50
years old and has been begging for thirty-five years. He was born
with a partial paralysis in the legs. He walks slowly but steadily
with the aid of his crutches. His mother takes care of his clothing
and food. She also administers his earnings and invests his money
through a lending business where she charges 5 to 10 percent monthly
interest. Most of her customers are Chamulas and people from the edges
of San Cristobal.

Juan is a cash-specialized beggar: he accepts only money. As
most beggars who are mainly interested in cash, he is not likely to
beg at the market counters. He would rather stay at the nearby stores
or beg from passers-by. He begs using an elaborate formula. "Would
you be so kind and give me something in God's name? God will be kind
to you if you give." Variations of this theme are used whenever Juan

begs from the city people and from the tourists.

122

He leaves his house everyday at 6 A.M. He lives with his
mother in Cuxtitali, and the house is his own. He dresses neatly in
white Indian clothes and wears a white hat as clean as his dress. His
schedule is fixed and regular. Every morning the relative in charge
of his food knows in advance where to find him at midday. Juan walks
all over the city, a barrio per day. The three barrios he frequents
most are La Merced, Guadalupe and Santa Lucia, which he covers in about
four days. If he does not finish working in a given barrio during the
scheduled day, he returns there the next day to complete his rounds.
Saturday and Sunday are spent around the stores, hotels, and the bank.
On any of these days he works from about 7 A.M. to 8 P.M.

Many beggars work on similar routes, but no one is as organized
as Juan. Other beggars consider him to be the most successful beggar
in town and he seems to deserve this opinion. His father died ten
years ago. His brothers are small coffee growers, economically suc-
cessful. They know he is a beggar. In their opinion, there is nothing

wrong with being a beggar if one is unable to work.

The Beggar's Use of City_Space

A major aim of our research was to discover the way in which
beggars and begging activities were distributed spatially in the city.

In other words we wanted to find out the existence (if any) of

123

delimited territories as the specific domain for some individual
beggars. We may define territory as a spatial zone, explicitly or
implicitly delimited, but always recognized differentially by the
population which dwells, visits, or exploits it. In terms of their
use by beggars, the barrios, The Market, The Central Parque, or private
territories such as households, posadas and cantinas, are all examples
of delimited territories.

Territoriality can be defined in terms of the various functions
a given territory plays for groups or individuals who recognize its
existence. For the beggars as a group, the city is formally divided
into the same sections accepted by all other categories of the popula-
tion; i.e., barrios and their classification in terms of their eco-
nomic and social standing are shared by beggars and non-beggars alike.
However, the classification of barrios into good or bad ones to work
in belongs only to the beggars and their definition of San Cristobal.

The city and its barrios appear to be a broad territory in
which the beggars operate (Figure 8). Most full-time beggars do share
the same space within the city plan. Nevertheless, it is possible to
observe a clear division of space between the alcoholic and the non-
alcoholic beggars. No drunkard is likely to be seen begging in the
central plaza or the surrounding barrios except for isolated examples
or on especially joyous days. Most likely they are found in their own

barrios or around the cantinas.

124

 

125

Other beggars disperse themselves all over the city according
to their personal schedules.

Contrary to my expectations, there seems to be no clear notion
of territoriality for the individual beggar. Rather, observations on
the spot suggest that there is overlapping in time and space among a
number of beggars. On "good days" there is a clearly observable con-
centration of beggars in the best barrios (Figure 9).

Within each barrio there are also preferred streets, stores,
and households, which are being visited almost simultaneously by most
beggars. Observing the rhythm of movement on one of the most crowded
streets at given times during "good days" demonstrates that beggars
come one after the other, and receive alms at the same stores. The
only indication of individual territoriality could be seen if an over-
lap in time occurs; i.e., if a beggar enters the same store where
another one is already working, he would retreat temporarily. Thus
it can be noted that it is not the use of territory per se, but rather
the timing in use of territory that is being respected. According to
my observations, this principle is valid for both ambulatory and sta-
tionary work spots. It seems that the tacit rule which helps prevent
conflict is that beggars respect and give priority to the first one to
come to the spot. Observations and interviews with beggars on this

subject are exemplified in the situation reported below, which is also

@4

 

127

an example of the dominant themes and style of interaction among

beggars on the streets.

Julio Chamula and José Ladino share the space for a short
period of time. Julio begins to move slowly toward the spot
where José is sitting down, waiting for alms. It is Sunday
afternoon on a street where José is used to sitting down regularly.
They do not know each other and it takes time to establish some
communication, even though both seem willing to talk. After a few
minutes, they glance at each other, and Julio begins the conver-
sation.
"How are you?"
"Fine.“
"How is everything? How is the street today."
"Look. Everything is very slow.‘l

Pe0ple begin to pass by and they begin to beg, each in his own
style. Julio stretches his hand while repeating "A blessed alm in
God's name. I am already old . . . ." Jose has a bowl on his legs
and raises his eyes to the people while making a guttural sound.
When the flow of people become fewer on the street, Jose asks,
"Well, where did you go today?"

"I was walking around . . . .

"How was it?"

 

 

l‘a-Ill! .j‘lilll 111111.. «I II

128

"Oh, it's very slow. If you work hard they give you some food.
They don't give money anymore. Their hearts have changed. And
how are you?"

"Well, bad, because I work from morning to sunset but it doesn't
help. I can hardly get some food around here."

People start coming again and they begin to arrange their
things. While Julio, who is still standing, organizes the bag
in which he carried food, tortillas, toasts and papers, the other
man counts his coins. Julio begins the conversation again.
"What do you think, will it rain?"
"That's how it seems."
"It will be bad then."
"Oh, sure. Well, are you going to take a walk during the feasts?"
“No."
"Why?"
"Because they hurt me."
"Who?"
"Some drunkards."
"Why?“
"I don't know the reason."
"Where were you?"
"I was crossing in front of the place where they were drinking."

"What did they do to you?"

129

"When I was begging for my alms, they pushed me out. They told me
to lend them money to have a beer. They pushed me. They almost
threw me on the stones. Then I came here."

Another stream of people came by. They don't look at each
other while each grabs for donations. At this moment José begins

to show his impatience as Julio is interfering on his territory.

"There are almost no people coming. I'll move to another street."
José says.

“Oh, aren't they coming any more?"
"No. Not anymore."

"Well, I'll leave." Julio grabs his net with his belongings.
"I'll see you . . ."

"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. Right now."

When he left, José moved only about thirty meters from the
place where this conversation took place. The street was all his

again.

Observation of the beggars' routes shows the Central Parque as
being the convergency point of the beggars' movement. This convergence
of beggars and non-beggars in El Centro in general and El Parque in
particular is a clear resultant of the grid design of the city (Stanis-
lavski 1946; 1947). This design forces the users of the city space to
pass through El Centro in order to reach their ultimate destinations;

the stores, the Market, the Bus Stop, and the public offices are all

130

connected with and spatially dependent upon El Centro, thus contributing
to this convergence of human activity.

Let us note that the use of space in the three major areas of
concentration is regulated on the same economic basis for both beggars
and non-beggars. The Market is a center of distribution as the city
itself is; the plaza is a center of economic and social life, while the
Bus Stop is an important element of economic activity. As such, all
three serve first to attract non-beggars and, as a result, attract
beggars as well.

Defining the entire city of San Cristobal as a large market
place, an arena where commodities are exchanged for cash or other com-
modities, allows defining the concentration areas as sub-centers within
it. Beggars are, with few exceptions, outsiders who come to this
market place in order to attach themselves and get hold of surplus
money and commodities available there. Within this area, they are
likely to stick to the specific sub-centers according to their indi-
vidual needs or specialization as beggars. Thus, cash-oriented beggars
(see page 121) would prefer the sub-centers where money is available
while non—specialized beggars would move all around.

Perceived this way, beggars become inserted as parasites into
the process of circulation of money (Marx 1893:23-120). This insertion
can occur in any stage of the circuit but is most likely to occur in

the last one where surplus is available.

131

This situation is consistent with the historical evidence on
the emergence of begging as a massive phenomenon. Beggars were first
attached to the monasteries and profited of the wealth surplus of the
monks plus the halo brought into begging by the begging friars. At
the closing of the monasteries, beggars, along with surplus labor,
moved into the developing towns and manors where money was available.
It was the period of economic prosperity previous to the Black Death,
when the labor market began taking shape. Increased money circulation
and expanding trade, brought about by the development of German silver
mines and the comeback of the crusaders, maintained these centers as
logical targets for beggars. After the Black Death, the Ordinance of
Labourers tried to compel those offered work to stick with working, but
the ordinance was not being strictly enforced in the towns (Gilmore
1940:21). So vagrants and beggars continued to migrate into towns in
large numbers.

San Cristobal beggars therefore are more likely to resemble
beggars in 14 century precapitalistic towns, than the beggars of a
contemporary metropolis. It will appear that an entrepreneurial beggar
would have better opportunities in Tuxtla Gutierrez, which is not only
the political center of Chiapas, but also in a more advanced stage of
capitalism, industrialization and modernization than San Cristobal.

Collecting factual data along these lines remains for further research.

132

Back to the use of the urban-economic space of the city by
beggars, it seems that there is no restriction to the beggars' access
to either of the three concentration areas, nor to other working areas
of the city. It must be noted, however, that the open part of the
market plaza, which is the section of the Market occupied mostly by
Indians, is less attractive to beggars; also, the alcoholic beggars'
tendency to stay close to the cantinas can be viewed as another dif-
ferential use of space. On the other hand beggars have been seen
rejected from places like the department store known as La Cooperativa.

Thus, a cash oriented beggar will tend to stay away from the
areas where chances are that he would receive alms other than cash
(see page121). Proximity to the cantinas and also being well known
within the barrio tends to keep alcoholic beggars in determined sectors.

This spatial attachment, however, does not imply as was ex-
pected, any major changes in the beggars' style of work and relating to
prospective donors. Whenever interaction occurs, even in the more
business oriented sectors of town, the dominant style remains far from
being formal or contractual. This is not a feature typical to donor-
beggar relationships only, but tints the whole gamut of human relation-
ships in San Cristobal, from politics, to business and everyday con-

tacts.

133

The attachment of given beggars to certain routes, corners, and
general sections of town, other than those already mentioned, is also
an important element in building up closer relationships with regular
donors. Building up these minimal ties would definitely help the
beggar to secure subsistence on a regular basis. Thus, the circulation
of beggars could be interpreted in terms of two guiding factors: the
patterns of circulation of appropriable wealth, and the residential
pattern within the city.

One may expect that similar distributions of space will occur
in cities that are socioeconomically and physically similar. We may
also expect similar tendencies in the style of interaction between
people. Nevertheless, there are almost no urban studies dealing with
Andean Hinterland cities that could be considered comparable to San
Cristobal (Aguirre Beltran 1967). No available study was focused upon
the underclassed beggar population and its relationship to non-beggars.
Thus the problem remains open if generalization is to be made.,

The questions regarding relationships between the beggar and
his own community of origin are especially interesting for further re-
search. We know that most beggars do not "work" in their own commun-
ities or towns. Reasons brought forth in explaining this fact in-
cluded the general poverty of the communities. It has also been

suggested that shame to beg prevents them from begging on hometown

134

territory (Fabrega 1971:284). Still, observations and reports ob-
tained from beggars who at some stage in their "careers" have begged
in their places of origin, and also the preferences stated for begging
in one's own barrio, lead me to question the importance of shame as

a deterrent factor.

The fact is that many beggars move back and forth from San
Cristobal to their own towns. Those able to work are likely to under-
take their agricultural jobs and, if having a family, remain with it.
Is begging a pendular migration for the purpose of obtaining cash, or
is it the result of "personal or cultural misadjustment" of certain
individuals, as suggested by one of my ecclesiastic informants?

It is in this direction that further research would be espe-
cially valuable, as San Cristobal's boundaries lie far beyond the
city limits. The study of human circulation between the hinterland

and such a center of an economic area becomes particularly interesting.

CHAPTER V

THE CITY AND THE BEGGARS

In order to obtain a general picture of the Sancristobalenses'
opinions and attitudes toward begging, we surveyed 152 respondents,
representing a proportionate sample of the nuclear and peripheral
barrios of the city. Thus the predominance of Ladinos over Indians
in the human composition of the city is evident in the majority of
Ladino over Indian respondents, the later representing only eight
percent of the total population.

All households were approached for interviewing during working
hours, which explains why 65% of the respondents were women. In terms
of age, the respondents were evenly distributed among five age cate-
gories (see Appendix III, Part I, question no. 7).

The questionnaire was in two parts. Items such as preferred
barrios, schedules of work, goods requested by beggars and the like,
formed the infOrmative part of the questionnaire. It served the pur-
pose of validating the information I had obtained through observing
beggars and through their own descriptions of their use of space and

135

136

time. The perceptions and opinions of the Sancristobalenses about
beggars and begging formed the other part of the questionnaire.

We shall now review some of the questions explored by our
survey. The information presented hereafter was obtained through the
questionnaire and also some informal interviews with Sancristobalenses
of varied socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Among them,
municipal and religious authorities, and also informal political

leaders helped with their knowledge and views on the problem.

Do Givers Know to Whom
They Give Their Alms?

Most beggars take certain pride in their "personal acquain-
tance“ with certain people in town, as expressed in their reference to
places and households where they beg regularly. In many cases a rela-
tionship has been established between the beggar and the donor long
before the beginning of the beggar's career as such, and while he or
she was working for the household.

When formally asked about the quality of their relationship
with beggars, most respondents in San Cristobal were able to identify
the beggar by his external characteristics, rather than by name.
Nevertheless, in informal conversations it is not rare to find that

everybody has a detailed knowledge of at least one case history of

137

begging. It could be the case of a former farm worker, or a servant of
the family, or the beggar who used to come every day for years. In a
sense, every man has his own beggar to take care of and depend upon for
the salvation of his soul, and for the maintenance of his prestige as a
man of good heart.

Castellanos illustrates this quite aptly: "Once the Indian
maid had finished her story (see page 13) the little girl asked,

'Who is my poor, nana?‘ The paaa_answered while helping the little
girl to rise from her chair, 'You still don't know. But, if you look
carefully, when you get older and more mature, you will recognize him'"
(1962:29).

Many beggars rely upon a given donor or household for specific
purposes. They know they will receive lunch or dinner at one place,
while a couple of cents are guaranteed at another place on a specific
day of the week. In the same manner, the ppaaaa_is a secure shelter
for one or more beggars.

Assuming that one important condition for beggars to exist is
the existence of an adequate number of regular donors, the immediate

question becomes, why people give their alms?

138

Why Do People Give Alms in San Cristobal?

When the people of San Cristobal are asked what they think
moves people to give, pity appears to be the main explanation. Why
pity and not sympathy or compassion, or any other similar feeling?

Pity is defined in the English Dictionary (Funk & Wagnal's:l940) as

the "feeling of grief or pain awakened by the misfortunes or sorrows

of others.“ Sympathy is defined in the same source as a term implying
"some degree of equality, kindred or union.“ Pity, on the other hand,
is defined as being "reserved for yaa3_is weak or unfortunate, and so
far, at least, inferior to ourselves." This comparison points directly
to the general assymetry in the relationship we have been talking about,
when referring to the dominance-subordination pattern between the
Ladino and the Indian.

It is not compasidn, but, laatima_that moves the donor to give.
The same pity he may feel for an overdriven horse or a hungry dog moves
him to spare a cent or a piece of bread for the beggar. When the
beggar is an Indian, it is possible to make this pattern fit the
Ladino-men pity toward the Indian-thing. But, when the beggar is a
Ladino it doesn't fit. Is it possible that being a beggar, an under-
classed member of the society, overrides the fact of being a Ladino?
This reasoning is consistent with the definition of ethnic groups at

play in the area under study, and also with the dominical relationships

139

particularly predominant in Ciudad Real: e.g., if you behave as a
Ladino, then you are a Ladino. But what happens if you are a beggar?

Generally speaking, when we think of beggars, the image is
that of a dirty, despicable thing that produces displeasure in other
people. We asked the people of San Cristobal if displeasure or nausea
could be considered reasons for giving. Only two respondents accepted
this as a possibility. Also, very few respondents thought that the
need to get rid of the beggar's presence should be considered.

Contrary to what was expected before fieldwork, Christian
charity does not seem to be an important motivation to give. Only
indirectly and in isolated cases we do find any relationship between
almsgiving and religion. The religious associations of ladies who
give money in front of the church every Tuesday and the lady who gives
food in exchange for the beggars' prayers are, in my opinion, the most
outstanding examples of this type of almsgiving.

The only institutional relationship of the church to beggars

seems to be the church-run asylum.43

As a matter of fact, there are
occasions when the church appears to be competing with beggars for the
attention of possible donors. The women carrying the images of

44 around the city and the institutionalized almsgiving to the

saints
images exposed in the churches during Holy Week's Good Friday are

examples of this competition. In the case of the Holy Week images,

140

there is explicit interest in facilitating the donor's task, as there
are specially assigned volunteers to give change to the people who do
not have small coins at hand. Thus, Holy Week is a bad week for
beggars. Nevertheless, the forthcoming week brings about compensation,
as the city Fair brings newcomers and potential donors to town.

Ironically, the church is even physically inaccessible to most
handicapped beggars who are unable to climb up the stairs that separate
them from the House of God. Among others, Pedro, Manuel, and Juana
Chamula pointed out that they would like to go to church (they "even
know how to pray to the God of the Ladinos"), but they seldom go be-
cause it is painful to climb the stairs.

The beggars believe in God and they use God and the Saints as
assistants in their request for alms. Every day of the week is tradi-
tionally dedicated to a Patron Saint. On Monday the request will be
made in the name of the souls in Purgatory, on Tuesday it will be made
in San Antonio's name, on Wednesday it is in San Martin's name, and so
on. Saturday's request will be sponsored by the Holy Virgin Mary.
Most of the beggars who keep using this traditional request form are
old and use it primarily in door-to-door begging.

Returning to our question of why do people give alms in San
CriStobal, we might suggest that the first time a prospective donor

is faced with a beggar, his main motivation to give is a feeling of

141

pity. Then, he will get used to a given beggar, ending up in a situa-
tion in which the beggar becomes a thing, a given part of the city's

environment. This "caaificaciggi (objectivization) of the beggar and

 

the habit of seeing him frequently would develop into a compulsion to

give without discrimination, as we shall find later on.

Who Deserves More Pity?

We have seen that disabled and elderly beggars are likely to
perceive themselves as having an acquired right to beg. Prospective
donors share this opinion as they are more likely to feel pity for the
elderly. The sex of the beggar doesn't seem to make any difference, so
old men are as pitiful for the Sancristobalenses as old women are.
Second as subjects of pity are the disabled beggars. In this case,
pity is mainly directed to invalids and lame beggars. If we think in
terms of the agricultural environment that surrounds the city and from
which most beggars come, it may be possible to understand this tendency
as the chances to survive for a man who is unable to ride a horse or to
walk behind the plow are in jeopardy. Most of the beggars' work his-
tories support this issue in statements as the following ones: “Long
ago, when I could work, I used to go to the farms for the harvest". . .

l'I used to work then, even after my legs were sick. I worked but I

142

couldn't ride the horse. Then I began to beg in my paraggf . . . "I
used to work in agriculture. Then I couldn't work any longer."

Contrary to what can be expected, especially when the observer
is more familiar with the Special attention given to the blind in terms
of rehabilitation institutions, schools and the like, the blind rank
third in the perception the sancristobalenses have of the reasons for
feeling pity. The blind are considered by respondents as deserving
only some pity, possibly because they are perceived as having better
chance of survival within the system, as compared to the elderly, the
lame, or the ill. Further inquiries in this direction are suggested.

Opinions regarding children beggars are diverse. We asked re-
spondents to evaluate how much pity each category of beggars deserves
(see Appendix III, Part 2, question 18). A little over a third of the
respondents felt that child beggars deserve some pity; one-third felt
that they deserve plenty of pity, while less than one-third felt they
deserve a little pity. In general, as suggested earlier in this work,
children do not beg professionally on the streets of San Cristobal.
Child beggars are mostly occasional beggars. The few cases of profes-
sionalism are children begging directly under the supervision of their
parents or other adults.

According to my informants, there used to be much more child

beggary than nowadays. The few cases I observed in San Cristobal are

143

isolated examples of the wide variety of child's exploitation, reported
also in studies done in Europe and India and observed by me in metro-
politan areas of Latin America. For example, there is the little blind
girl carried around by her parents or her mother. In some cases she is
pushed toward the prospective donor. Some other times one of the
parents makes a request. There are also the children of the alcoholic
couple, who send them to beg while they sit in a corner, drinking. A
third case of child beggar is found in San Cristobal: the guide of the
old blind beggar. Sometimes the boy is begging for his grandfather and
other times he only guides him to the right door. Early in the morning
they come to town from a nearby Chamula papaja_and walk slowly to the

Centro.

To Whom and What Do People Give?

While 49 respondents state that they give only to some of the
beggars, ninety-three respondents said that they give to all the
beggars who come to their homes. This lack of selectivity shows again
when the question is phrased differently asking to whom would they
M to give. Fifty-two percent of the females and fifty percent of

the males answered that it does not matter; they would give to anybody.

144

The remaining population said that theyprefer to give only to the dis-
abled and the elderly.

Food is the preferred item given. Contrary to the working
hypothesis regarding this point, there is no significant differentia-
tion between male and female attitudes toward giving money. The age
of the respondents did not make any difference either. When money is
given away the rules of the game are strict. Not just any coin will
be accepted by the beggar. As said earlier by an Indian beggar, San
Cristobal people give "tostones,“ the twenty centavos coin. If less
than that is given, chances are that the alm will be rejected and the
beggar will become angry. The sancristobalenses obviously know the
rule. Foreigners, especially non-nationals, will tend to give more.
As stated by the beggar quoted before, "gringos" are the best people
as they give paapa: This generosity may be considered one reason why,
for the outside observers, the number of beggars in town seem to be
much larger than what actually is: the expected generosity of the
outsider increases the number of occasional beggars requesting alms
from them.

In general, except on special feasts, beggars do not stop the
people of San Cristobal on the streets. They request in public places
as the restaurants or aafaa, and from the people sitting at the plaza's

benches. As in other types of begging a verbal request is not always

145

necessary as the prospective donors will react to the sole presence of
the beggar. In situations like at the restaurants or ggfgiéa 70009
people's groups are less likely to give alms. In mixed age and sex
groups it can be expected that the older person or the one who is act-
ing as a host will be giving for the whole group. The interaction in
these places will be minimal, and the general attitude of the donor is
one of displeasure or hurry to return to what he was doing before being
disturbed.

The issues of allocation of pity and alms seem basic in ex-
plaining the existence and maintenance of a relatively large and
steady population of beggars in San Cristobal. The lack of, or the
inadequacy of existing alternatives for those who are I'ill, poor, and
without a family" (Fabrega 1971:281), coupled with the socially sanc-
tioned right of given individuals to beg, complete the conditions which
make begging an acceptable way of earning a living.

In San Cristobal, beggars are taken for granted, as is alms-
giving; so much so that when at a given time a specific beggar does not
appear, something has been disrupted in the daily routine. The apaapp,
is kept ready to be given away and if the beggar does not show up, it
is realized for the first time that "it" had been part of the daily

routine. Otherwise, nobody even noticed their existence.

146

A repeated interaction at the stores will fbllow more or less
the structure of the following example. _'Nobody' Chamula approaches
the store and manages to crawl (as he cannot walk at all) through the
doorway. He stays quietly between the entrance and the counter at a
convenient distance, so he can look at the store-owner's face. He
stays there for a few minutes, staring alternately to the store owner
and to the clients. After a while the owner gives him a apaapp, He
remains, waiting for the alms of the customers. If they don't come,
he leaves. He doesn't say a word but looks thankfully. Then he moves
to his next target, a vendor across the sidewalk. He changes di-
rection as the vendor doesn't seem to pay attention to his presence
and hits the next possible donor, the confections seller. He searches
in his bag while looking at the confections. He seems not to find any-
thing in his bag. Then the seller, who has finished helping a customer,
looks at him and gives him some confections. They talk briefly and
amicably. He puts the confections in his bag and crawls across the
street to go into the stores on the other side of the plaza. He dis-
appears among the people coming and going.

I asked the store owner, who previously maintained that he
never gave alms, "Why did you give to this beggar?" "I feel for the
poor devil," was the immediate answer. Pity, dominance-subordination

is again present.

147

Who Does Not Give?

In a situation where people give to beggars as part of a daily
and somehow mechanical routine, it becomes reasonable to ask, what do
the givers think of the non-givers?

The majority of the respondents assume that the people who do
not give when requested alms are ruthless and tight-fisted. People who
do not give do not feel pity because “they don't think of the poor" or
“do not realize their needs." Few of the answers point out that some
beggars beg only for their "vices" (namely alcoholism), or that "they
throw away, waste, the money given to them." Only one respondent
answered that those who do not give “are not good Christians" and a
few people thought that the question was irrelevant, as "everybody
gives." The style of these comments is consistent with historical in-
formation we have. Beggars are being accepted by this society as they
were in the 17th century and earlier, when people backed the poor I
against the strict enforcement of repressive laws against begging in
the street. Not even Protestantism stopped almsgiving; it only "made
it harder for the poor, beggar or not." For Protestantism "giving for
social welfare involves the idea of stewardship and is in a way a sub-
stitute for almsgiving" (Gilmore 1940:25). In the society which we
have been studying, the efforts of the Catholic Church's authorities

to cope with the traditional religious style of the Sancristobalenses

148

have no effect with respect to almsgiving: it is natural to expect

"everybody to give" or, if not, be perceived as a "bad Christian."

What Can People Do to Curb Begging?

When asked about their personal ideas on how to reduce begging
in town, only 98 of the 152 respondents answered. Of these, seven
stated that it cannot be reduced, "It is impossible, there are too many
beggars," and 15 people expected the solution from the Federal Govern-
ment.

From a realistic point of view, Federal efforts would have not
many chances to be successful in a society that perceives the poor as
having the right to beg. It seems the following statement of Gillin,
made fifty years ago, fits the conditions of San Cristobal in 1973:
"The feeding of beggars and vagrants and indiscriminate giving to
street beggars only encourages the habit and confirms these men in
their hope that they can make a living without work . . . a community
will have just as much begging and vagrancy as it deserves by its
treatment of the beggar and vagrant" (Gillin 1921:114).

Of the remaining answers, 46 people suggested the building up
of hospitals and houses for the elderly either by governmental or

citizens' initiative. This response reflects the dominance of elderly

149

and handicapped beggars in the city. Nine persons suggested the crea-
tion of new job opportunities or abstention from giving, in order to
force the beggars to work.

Only two respondents considered that the only manner to stop
begging is to take measures against alcoholism, which again is concor-
dant with our findings of a limited, spacially restricted number of
alcoholic beggars being helped on the basis that alcoholism is not the
"fault" of the alcoholic. As a consequence the alcoholic beggar is
subject of pity, deserving to be given economic support.

When asked about the allocation of responsibilities regarding
begging, 115 respondents answered that the State has the main obliga-
tion to solve the problem as being within the Church's domain.

The remaining respondents abstained from answering. The
massive lack of meaningful responses to these two questions moves the
researcher to question again the degree of consciousness that the
prospective donors have of begging. The common citizen gives without
considering the legitimacy of begging as a way of life. If there is
any way to change or improve the living condition of beggars it is not
taken at all to be his responsibility. "The State (through the crea-
tion of new or the improvement of existing institutions) . . . should
take care of it." There is no need for him to think or worry about the
problem. Thus, giving, as it has been done for generations, appears to

be the individual "solution" when faced with begging.

CONCLUSION

This has been a study of professional beggars in the Mexican
city of San Cristobal, Las Cases. Our project was undertaken with the
main goal of expanding and shedding additional light on issues brought
forth by previous exploratory research. Let us then recapitulate some

of our findings.

1. There appears to be a stable population of beggars working
regularly in San Cristobal. Furthermore, this population ex-
pands during the periods of major influx of non-beggar popula-

tion, such as the Fair and Summer.

2. Most of the beggars come from out of town, though some of them
have been in town prior to their becoming beggars. Similarly
to other migrants, beggars come to town attracted by the eco-
nomic advantages of the city. In contrast to other migrants
to town however, the beggars are likely to have closer rela-
tions with (through ppaaaa.and/or daily patronage) the stable,

core population of the city.

150

151

The institution of ppaaaa, traditionally relating the Indian to
his Ladino paappp_during the former's visits to town, has been
adopted by beggars, including the Ladino ones. Thus the beggars
relate to their donors very much the way an Indian coming to
town relates to the Ladino, e.g., within a patron—client,
dominance-subordination style. In other words, the relation-
ship pattern that tints the whole gamut of relationships be-
tween the hinterland and the city is maintained through the

donor-beggar relationship.

The maintenance of the above style of relationships is consis-
tent with the maintenance of traditional social stratification
and ascribed roles of Ladinos vis a vis Indians, and of the

higher class Ladino with regard to the lower-class Ladino.

To be a beggar is degrading for a Ladino among other Ladinos,
as it is for an Indian among other Indians. In the city, where
the interaction is between Indian or Ladino beggar, on the one
hand, and Ladino donor, on the other, ethnic affiliation is
irrelevant to the determination of social status; Indian and

Ladino beggars share an equally low position in the society.

The movement of beggars within the city space follows the daily

routine and schedule of the city. That is, during the day

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152

beggars tend to concentrate in the commercial areas, while at
night they stay within the residential sectors. All in all,
beggars share the city space equally; alcoholic beggars, who

keep their activities close to the bars, are an exception.

The limited existence of modern economic institutions in the
city has helped to maintain the traditional pattern of the
beggar-donor relationship. This pattern does not always work
wherever modern forms have appeared. So, for example, begging
in the newly found department stores and supermarkets is very

limited.

According to previous history and observation of beggars, it
was expected that a large number of beggars would concentrate
around the church, as a space and as an institution. Yet our
fieldwork proved that is not the case in San Cristobal, prob—
ably due to the efforts of the new generation of priests trying
to eliminate the exercise of indiscriminate charity. Instead,
beggars tend to concentrate in three major areas which are
centers of economic attraction for all: the Market, the Cen-

tral Plaza and the Bus Stop.

The residence patterns of the city are class and occupation

determined, and follow strictly the urban land usage inherent

153

in the pre-industrial city. It was expected that spatial
attachment to given sectors of the city would produce changes
in the style of interaction between beggar and donor. Speci-
fically, we expected that in business areas, the style of the
transaction would take a more contractual form. We found that,
even in the most business—oriented sectors of town, the domi—
nant style of interaction remains far from formal or contrac-

tual.

10. The historical classification of beggars as able-bodied and
handicapped is particularly valid for San Cristobal. In addi—
tion, there is the belief that the handicapped have a right to
beg, more so than the able-bodied. San Cristobal society
handles the problem of its deprived members on an individual
basis: charity is in the hands of individuals, not institu-
tions. And whenever such institutions do exist, they are not

favored by either beggars or non-beggars.

In general it may be suggested that the integration of the
beggar within the San Cristobal society is maintained through the one-
to-one relationship created through the beggar-donor interaction.
Under certain circumstances a person acquires the right to beg, where-

upon society does not question the legitimacy of this right.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

BASIC QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BEGGARS

APPENDIX I

GUIA DE ENTREVISTA (CUESTIONARIO BASICO) LIMOSNEROS

 

Full-Time ............ Part-time
Toma? ..... Si ..... No? Defecto?....Si ..... No?
Edad aproximada ....... Especifique .............
Nombre .................................................................
VIVIENDA. Casa propia?.... Familia?.... Amigos?....

Pide posada?....Si ....No ande? ....................................
CUANTO TIEMPO HACE QUE VINO A SAN CRISTOBAL? ...........................
(Si va y viene de su pueblo) Que dias viene? ...........................
BARRIOS EN QUE PIDE. Lu ..... Ma ..... Mi ...... Ju ..... Vi ..... Sa .......

Do ...... Todos los dias ................................................
HAY BARRIOS MAS BUENOS QUE OTROS? Si?.... Cuales? .....................
No? ..... Por qué? ................ Todos son iguales ..... . ..... . .......
BUEN TRATO. Dan comida? ......... Dinero? ......... Ropa? ..............
MAL TRATO. No dan? ............. Por qué? ............................

Hay mas gente buena que mala?....$i? ...No ....Todos son iguales
(Mujeres l; Hombres 2; Viejos 3; J6venes 4; Indios 5; Ladinos 6;

Gringos 7).
QUE PREFIERE QUE LE DEN?...Comida....Ropa....Dinero...Otra .............

SABE SU FAMILIA QUE PIDE? ...Si Que dice? ............................
...No Por que? .............................

154

155

CUANTO TIEMPO HACE QUE PIDE? ...........................................

SI LE OFRECIERAN UN TRABAJO QUE UD. PUDIERA HACER, TRABAJARIA?
Si.... No ..... Por que no? ...........................................

HORAS MEJORES PARA PEDIR. ..Mafiana ..... Tarde ...... iMediodia ............
Todas son iguales ......................................................
TIENE LUGARES FIJOS PARA PEDIR? ........................................
TIENE LUGARES FIJOS EN QUE LE DEN COMIDA? ..............................
TIENE LUGARES FIJOS EN QUE LE DEN ROPA? ............... . ........... .....

 

Pregunte, del cuestionario a la poblacidn:
No. 17. Por qué cree Ud. que la gente da? ......... no da? .............

No. 18. Quiénes son mas dignos de lastima? ............................

APPENDIX II

CASE STUDIES RECORD

APPENDIX II

GUIA PARA ESTUDIO DE CASOS

Nombre .............................................. Edad aprox .....
Est. Civil .......................... Defecto ........................

 

GENEALOGIA. anotar trabajo, lugar de vivienda y ocurrencia o no de
alcoholismo, para cada familiar nombrado.
Hay otros limosneros en la familia?

TIEMPO PIDIENDO. Recuerdos de los comienzos en el oficio.
Le enseho alguien? Le aconsej6 alguien para que se hiciera limosnero?

QUE HACE CUANDO NO ESTA PIDIENDO? Uso del tiempo libre.
Amigos? A quiénes ve todos los dias, semanas, fines de semana?

SI ES CASADO En que trabaja el (la) conyuge? Cuantos hijos?
Viven todos juntos?

SI ESTA SEPARADO Por que se separ6? Donde vive la ex familia?
EN QUE TRABAJAN SUS AMIGOS?

ES CATOLICO? Tiene otra religion?
Va a la iglesia regularmente, a veces, nunca?

PIDE EN LAS IGLESIAS. Si no pide, por que no?
Si pide, en cuales? ..............

CUANDO SE ENFERMA, A QUE HOSPITAL, DISPENSARIO, DOCTOR VA?
Si no va a ningun hospital, por qué no?

HA PENSADO DEJAR DE SER LIMOSNERO?

Se puede o no se puede? Si se puede, como lo haria?
Si no se puede, por que no?

156

157

CONOCE ALGUNOS LIMOSNERITOS A LOS QUE LES VAYA MUY BIEN, QUE GANEN
MUCHO?

Conoce algunos limosneritos que hayan dejado de pedir?

Que hacen ellos ahora?

VIAJA FUERA DE SAN CRISTOBAL?
Cuantas veces a la semana, mes, afio?
Adonde va regularmente?

Que medio de transporte usa?

Paga su pasaje?

SI TOMA DESDE CUANDO TOMA?

Tomaba antes de ser limosnero?

Empezb a tomar después?

Adonde prefiere ir a tomar? Por que?

APPENDIX III

QUESTIONNAIRE TO NON-BEGGARS

APPENDIX III

PARTE N0. 1 ENCUESTA N0 ..........

 

LAS RESPUESTAS DE ESTA SECCION DEBEN SER LLENADAS POR EL ENTREVISTADOR
INMEDIATAMENTE DESPUES QUE HA TERMINADO LA ENTREVISTA. POR NINGUN
MOTIVO DEBEN HACERSE ESTAS PREGUNTAS AL ENTREVISTADO.

 

DIRECCION .................................... BARRIO ..................

l. ENTREVISTADO l. dueho (a) de la casa
2. sirvienta
3. otro...especificar ......................

2. SEXO DEL ENTREVISTADO ................ 1. H ................ 2. M

3. GRUPO EN QUE CLASIFICARIA UD. AL ENTREVISTADO.
l. indigena 2. ladino

4. CLASE SOCIAL EN QUE UD. CLASIFICARIA AL ENTREVISTADO.
1. alta 2. media 3. baja
Por qué? En qué baso Ud. su opini6n? ..........................

5. QUE REACCION TUVO EL ENTREVISTADO ANTE LAS PREGUNTAS?
1. no se molest6 2. se molest6 algo 3. se molestd mucho
4. se interesd 5. nada especial

6. LE PARECIO A UD. QUE EL ENTREVISTADO ES UA PERSONA.
l. muy instruida 2. instruida 3. ignorante

7. EDAD APROXIMADA DEL ENTREVISTADO

l. hasta 20 afios
2. 21 a 30 "
3. 31 a 40 "
4. 41 a 50 "
5.

mayor de 50 aflos.
158

159

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARTE NO. 2 - Preguntar a1 entrevistado.
l. Algunos de los pobres de esta ciudad son limosneros.
Vienen muchosppor aqgi?
l. Pocos 2. No muchos 3. Muchos 4. No sabe
2. Hay algunos gue vengan todos los dies?
1. Si 2. No 3. $610 algunos dias 4. No sabe
3. Hay algOn dia en especial en gue vengan mas?
1. Si (escribir el dia) ...........................................
2. Todos los dias son iguales
3. No sabe
4. En que época del afio vienen mas? ..................................
5. Aque hora del dia vienen mas?
1. mafiana 2. mediodia 3. tarde 4. noche 5. no sabe
6. Quiénes vienen mas,pindiganas o ladinos?
l. indigenas 2. ladinos 3. igual 4. no sabe
7. _Quiénes vienen mas, hombres o mujeres?
l. hombres 2. mujeres 3. igual 4. no sabe
8. ,Qpé es lo que piden mas?
l. comida 2. dinero 3. cualquier cosa 4. no sabe
9. _Qué_prefiere Ud. darles?
l. comida 2. ropa 3. dinero 4. otra cosa ( qué?) ......
10. Acostumbra Ud. a darles a todos los que vienen?
1. a todos 2. $610 a algunos 3. a ninguno 4. no sabe
11. A guienes prefiere Ud. darles? ....................................

 

160

12. Conoce Ud. a alguno de los que vienenppor aqgi?

1. Si 2. por su nombre ................ . ...................
3. no conoce el nombre pero los identifica ........................
4. no

13. Cree Ud. que entre los limosneros hay....

 

l. gente buena y gente mala? .............
2. mas gente buena que mala? .............
3. mas gente mala que buena? .............

l4. Cree Ud. gue entre los limosneros hay....
1. muchos alcoh61icos?..... ..............
2. algunos alcohdlicos? ..................
3. casi ningOn alcohdlico? ...............

15. Cree Ud. que hay mendigos gue no estan realmente necesitados?
1. no 2. si 3. algunos 4. muchos 5. no sabe

l6. Conoce Ud. alguno asi? ............................................

l7. Por qué cree Ud. que la gente da?—-

e1 mendigo le da lastima* l 2 3 4

1e da pena l 2 3 4

1e da asco l 2 3 4

1e produce disgusto l 2 3 4

es deber de buen cristiano l 2 3 4

es deber de buen ciudadano 1 2 3 4

1e ensefiaron a ser caritativo 1 2 3 4

para que el limosnero se vaya l 2 3 4

para obtener agradecimiento 1 2 3 4
*1 = si 3 = tal vez
2 = no 4 = no sabe

161

18. Como diria Ud. que son las siguientesppersonas?

—-un anciano que pide .......

--una anciana que pide ...... 1 = muy digno de lastima

22:1:i?i§".3:epi12‘?::::::::: 2 = digno .1. ma...

--un ciego que pide 3 = poco digno de lastima
. . """""" 4 = no es digno de lastima

--un c030 que pide ..........

--un enfermo que pide .......

l9. Cuanto tiempo lleva Ud. en San Cristobal?

 

l. toda la vida ........ .......
2. mas de veinte afios .........
3. de diez a veinte afios ......
4. de cinco a nueve ahos ......
5. menos de cinco afios ..... ...
6. no se acuerda ..............

(SI HA VENIDO DE OTRA PARTE PREGUNTE 20-21 y 22. 51 NO, salte a23)
20. De d6nde vino Ud.? ..............................................
Era de alla su padre? 1. Si 2. no 3. no sabe

21. Hay limosneros alla?
1. Si 2. no 3. no sabe

22. Hay mas o menos mendigps gue en San Cristdbal?
l. mas 2. menos 3. igual 4. no sabe

23. __Qué cree Ud. queppodria hacerseppara evitar la mendicidad?

24. (_Quien cree Ud. que tiene mas obligacidn de solucionar este
problema?

--el estado ................ 1. Si 2. no 3. no sabe
--1a iglesia ............... 1. 5i 2. no 3. no sabe
--Todos los ciudadanos ..... 1. Si 2. no 3. no sabe

NOTES

NOTES

Introduction

I am using the term marginal in a spatial sense as being used in
the Latin American sociological literature with reference to urban
"marginals," individuals displaced from the productive occupations
and at the same time of the physical margins or borders of the
city.

Liber Vagatorum, The Book of Vagabonds and Beggars, was probably
written shortly after.1509. The first edition §eems to be the one
printed at Augsburg in about 1512-14 by Erhart Oglin. Luther's
edition is the second and the best known. It was published at
Wittemberg in 1528. The first important English edition, including
Luther's preface was published by Hotten in 1860. Hereafter the
book will be referred as Thomas 1932, as for the edition we have
been using.

I would prefer defining beggars as a "category of . . . (indi-
viduals). . . who share a common way of life, a 'culture' retaining
the meaning of both 'category' and 'cul ture,‘ " as used by Spradley
(1970:264, 265).

Chapter I

Within the limitations of translating colloquial Spanish into Eng-
lish, I shall try to keep the style of my informants. This will be
easy with educated informants, but will become difficult as we
begin dealing with beggars and others not as fluent and coherent.

The Liber Vagatorum gives a detailed account of the tricks usually
played by beggars to attract the attention of their possible
donors. Many of these tricks are later on observed by Paulian
(1897) in France, Kumarappa (1945) in India, Gaya (1962) in Spain
and Central Europe, and Gilmore (1940) in the United States.

162

10.

11.

163

Las Partidas (Alfonso X, El Sabio). In this body of legislature
were the first restrictive laws regarding beggars in Spain.

Gilmore (1940:151) divides occupations in two kinds: socially
approved and socially disapproved; more specifically, socially
disapproved occupations are "outlawed and outcast by organized
society" e.g. "Prostitution, violation of property rights (such
as robbery and stealing). illegal commerce (such as bootlegging
and smuggling), and begging."

Chapter 11

"Because 'since always' for the Tzotzil Indians have existed the
memories of the time when the valley of Jovel was an enormous lake
that later was directed tunnel of El Sumidero (The Gullyhole).
This lake carried its contents underground until reaching the
point named Rio Frio, between the present settlements of Alcala
and San Lucas“ (reported by informant H.A.).

There are slight discrepancies between different authors regarding
these figures. I have tried to maintain an equilibrium between
the written sources and my own observations.

The Spanish Government began to send out exact instructions for the
layout of the colonial towns only after 1523, under the rule of
Charles V, when these instructions and the principles on which they
were based were codified in the "Laws of the Indies." For further
information on the grid pattern and its importance not only for the
further development of the city plan, but also for the social
stratification reflected in it, see Stanislawski (1947), Zucker
(1959), and Foster (1960:34-49).

This is one of the several traditions followed by the Spaniards to
name the cities they founded. Some were named in honor of the
native town of the founder, some others were reminders of the
patron Saint of the province of Spain where he came from. In some
cases he maintained the original or a Spanish version of the native
denomination, adding to it the Christian requirements of a non-
pagan name. When Villa Real became San Cristobal will be dis-
cussed later in this chapter.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

164

"In 1528 Villa Real de Chiapas was fbunded. This followed the plan
of measured streets and solares and apportionment of the land ac-
cording to merit, as ordered in the king's instructions" (Antonio
de Remesal, quoted in Stanislawski 1947:100). "A central plaza was
destined for communal gatherings, probably as a market place also,
and simultaneously represented the courtyard of the central temple.
The social standing of the inhabitants was manifested by the respec-
tive nearness of their houses to the plaza“ (Zucker 1959:136).
After laying out the plan of the city the founder should divide

the plots for houses these to be according to the status of the
persons. (Coleccidn de Documentos inéditos relativos a1 descu-
brimiento, conquista y colonizacidn de las_posesiones espaholas

en America y Oceania, sacados en su mayop_parte del Archivo de
Indias, Madrid 1864-1884, Vol. 38, 1881, pp. 284-285.

 

These two latter barrios are considered by some authors as being
Colonias. San Ramon in any case is an older urban development
originally occupying private lands alongside the road to Chamula.
San Felipe Ecatepec is an Indian settlement close San Cristobal.
Some historians and anthropologists refer to it as a barrio. I
would prefer to consider San Felipe as a hamlet.

"222017 is an abbreviation used in San Cristobal instead of cochino
or cerdo (pig).

Tamal is a food made out of corn flour and wrapped in corn leaf.
Sometimes it is filled with pork meat and prunes, others with
blackmange.

The atajadoras are ladino women. Before dawn they go to the trails
coming into town and wait for the Indians who come to Market. They
buy the Indians' merchandise at a bargain price. They are feared
by the Indians, especially the younger ones.

Comal is a flat earthenware pan for cooking tortillas. It is
separated from the fire by three big stones.

I am specifically concerned with the barrio as basically a dwelling
unit. It must not be confused with the use of the term in refer-
ence to the Chamula Indians, where, according to Pozas (1959:29-3QL
the barrio is a human group without any relationship to territory.

There are 24 churches and public chapels in San Cristobal, and of
these only one, San Agustin, can be called abandoned (Montagu
l957-58:2).

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

165

"La época contemporanea no ha hecho sino empobrecer San Cristobal,
destruyendo la ciudad que en conjunto guarda la estulticie de un
comercio pintarrajeador y destructor de fachadas. Actualmente
puede verse un gran numero de casas sin caracter antiguo ni
moderno, y una serie de anodinas construcciones que se multiplican
dia a dia, como mancha expansiva por toda la poblacidn" (quoted in
Markham.1963:20).

By the second half of the 1600's a sculptor from Barcelona named
Tolsa was in charge of the building of the statue of Charles IV at
Ciudad de Mexico's major plaza. For this purpose a stone zocle
with a balaustrade was built in the center of the plaza. The
statue was put in the middle of this zocle. It became the habit
for the people of Mexico City to say "let's go to 'el zdcalo.'"
This phrasing was misinterpreted by tourist guides and similar
publications that understood that local meaning as being the Mex—
ican way of referring to La plaza. Really, in almost all Mexican
towns and cities, la plaza is known as El Pargue, which is also
the term used in San Cristobal.

Since August 1972 a new era has begun for this kiosk. It has been
remodelled and transformed into a long needed bookstore.

The translation of this term is servant girl. It is the name and
self denomination of maids. The feudal and derogatory connotation
of this term may be related to the fact that almost all servants
are Indian girls.

Twenty centavos is the price of a ride in the bus. As a result
these buses are nicknamed "veinteros."

"Class distinctions are very strongly recognized and even barrios
have class standings . . . in asking the number of social classes
I have received (as an answer) . . . from two to thirty-four, the
latter including a tremendous breaddown by family economic stand-
ing, occupations and the distance from the center where the occu-
pation was practiced. The most usual answer was three" (Montagu
1957-58:3).

"The gentlemen Creoles or natives of Chiapa are as presumptuous
and arrogant as if the noblest blood in the Court of Madrid ran
through their veins. It is a common thing among them to make a
dinner only with a dish of frijoles in black broth, boiled with
pepper and garlic, saying that it is the most nourishing meal in

27.

28.

29.

30.

166

all the Indies; after this so stately a dinner they will be sure to
come out to the street-door of their houses to see and be seen, and
there for a half an hour they stand shaking off the crumbs of bread
from their clothes, bands (but especially from their ruffs, when
they use them), and from their mustachios. And with thier tooth-
pickers they will stand picking their teeth, as if some small par-
tridge bone stuck in them. Nay if a friend pass by at that time,
they will be sure to vent out some crumb or other in the mustachio
(as if on purpose the crumbs of their table had been upon their
beards, that the loss of them might be a gaining of credit for a
great housekeeping) and then will be sure to vent out some non-
truth, as to say: 'Ah Sehor que linda perdiz he comido hpy,‘ 'Oh
Sir, what a dainty partridge have I to eat today,‘ whereas they
pick out nothing from their teeth but a black husk of a dry frijol
or Turkey bean" (Thomas de Gage 1648:142).

Pitt Rivers talks about the metropolitan culture as contrasted with
the local ladino community beliefs and behavioral body . . . "Ambas
culturas se entrelazan, desde luego, y es posible distinguir un
cierto rango de progresidn que va desde el ladino pobre y sin
educacidn, con antecedentes indigenas recientes, cuyo dominio de la
cultura metropolitana es muy débil, hasta el Ladino que fué a la
escuela fuera de la comunidad y viaja a menudo a la capital del
estado o a la ciudad de Mexico por razones de negocios, salud o
placer. El ladino de clase media, cuyo status 10 obliga a preocu-
parse por la cultura metropolitana, se halla en el punto capital
del conflicto que tiene lugar entre sus valores y creencias y las
de su comunidad local" (J. Pitt Rivers 1970:32).

I am thinking of the generally extended disease of this type of
bureaucracy in which problems are "dissolved" somewhere in the
bureaucratic net, reminiscent of a Kafkian labyrinth.

Every Latin American country will have a different regionalism to
express this involuntary tip, bribe, or perquisite.

Even for the pharmacies there are social categories. The first
rate ones where there is a responsible professional, backed by a
degree inscription number. The second rate ones where, painted
in large characters in the facade, says: "Mr. Jose Jimenez per-
forms the profession without the required degree.“

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

167

Paraje is a basic social unit associated to the territory. It
grows, moves out, changes or disappears depending on the slash
and burn cultivation requirements (Pozas 1959).

Necapal is an Indian load-carrying method; it uses a rope or
leather-made device, which consists of a headband on one end and
an attachment for the load at the other end.

Marchante, caminante, comerciante.

 

 

I knew about Antonio through Sancristobalenses who knew him from
long time. I also had the opportunity to talk to him several times
at the jail.

I am thinking of a similar idea as the "Image of Limited Good" of
the peasants (Foster 1965).

Enganche--contract procedure which is notorious for involving the
laborers into perpetual indebtedness.

The Enganchador--Cheap labor recruiter offering temporary field
jobs to Indians and Ladinos in a financial squeeze.

 

Chapter III
One quart of a liter (8 ounces).

Maestro (school teacher) was the name they use to give to the
assistant who was recording the conversations inside the cantinas.

"The failure"--In colloquial Spanish or Chiapas, girls refer to
"e1 fracaso" (the failure) of their female acquaintances who have
engaged in premarital sex. This term is especially used if the
failure had consequences such as abortion or childbirth. In gen-
eral, losing virginity means that the young woman has shapely re- .
duced her chances of finding an honorable husband.

limosnerito/a--Some beggars, especially the elderly, call them-
selves with the diminutive of limosnero (beggar).

 

Actually what he was drinking was medicine for external use only.
It was intended for skin rubbing alleviating muscular pain.

42.

43.

44.

168

Tost6n—-a 20 centavos coin.

Chapter V

"The bishop of Chiapas created the asylum using the inheritance his
brother left to him. But most people prefer to stay away because
they make more money and are free. In the asylum they do not make
money but they receive food, shelter, everything. But, they want
to be free and have money in their pockets. At the beginning we
(the Church) used to give food here. Sometimes many people came
who were not poor. Later on we thought that to give food was not
functional." (Father Pedro in conversations with me.)

"We (the Church) have forbidden carrying images while begging for
their money-boxes, but there are still two or three women who do
it. The women's religious associations sponsor them and give them
a half of what they collect" (Father A in conversations with me.)
He thinks that this is a form of begging, that the church cannot

be proud of. "It is a shame that these women walk around begging
for us, especially the paralytic ones, while we are here, in a good
house, with a car and everything."

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