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472 N o t e s o f M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 111 June 2, 1952 Zutugil Dugout Canoes Samuel K. Lothrop would not expect reefs to add to tie perils of navigation . Off Cerro de Oro, however, we hit one, of which the men on board had no previous knowledge. Atitlan canoes are paddled exclusively by the men, who always stand erect, regardless of the size of their barque (Fig, 111.1b, d). This method of paddling was noted in 1586 on Fonseca Bay by Ciudad Real (San Juan and Ciudad Real 1873:1:376). As his crews came either from Nacaome in Honduras or from Isla Teca, they probably are Choluteca Indians. When we first crossed this bay we photographed a boat rowed by a crew standing erect, perhaps a survival of the ancient method of paddling (Lothrop 1926:1, Fig. 7). The Zutugil women sped many hours in Lake Atitlan washing their clothes and their hair; and as children they learn to swim. The men never wash in the lake but in small sweat houses. Hence, like the sea-faring Yahgan men of Tierra del Fuego, they do not learn to swim. When sober, the Zutugil men are excellent watermen, but all too often they start home drunk from their principal market at Solola on the north shore. Embarking in calm waters under the shelter of the cliffs, they encounter high seas in the middle of the lake. If the canoe broaches to and is capsized, the crew may drown. If the bodies are not recovered, the family and friends hold a wailing ceremony on the edge of the lake (Fig. 111.2c). This happened at least twice during our period in residence at Santiago Atitlan. The Zutugil canoes are dugouts of cedar with raised wash-boards of pine. The largest canoe we saw belonged to the municipality of Santiago Atitlan Some time ago we published a brief account of the unique type of dugout canoes employed by the Quiche, Cakchiquel, and Zutugil Indians who dwell on the shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (Lothrop 1929). Several years later, while dwelling in the town of Santiago Atitlan and excavating in the vicinity for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, we chartered one of these vessels to transport our men from the town to the various places where we worked. Although we used an outboard motor, which more than doubled her speed even with a dozen people on board, there were various occasions when the motor failed to function and our men paddled the canoe in their usual fashion in all kinds of weather. Lake Atitlan is 1550 m. above sea level. It measures about 40 km from east to west and 16 km from north to south. On the south side are two great volcanoes ; on the other three sides are steep cliffs well over 300 m high. Most navigation is at night as almost every afternoon there are strong winds known as chocomil and panumul, and the gales known as northers may blow for days at a time and no native ventures offshore (McBryde 1933:71, 76). Santiago Atitlan and the other towns on the south shore of the lake are located on more or less sheltered harbors but even the largest canoes might be weatherbound. Not only does the lake get rough but the surrounding topography causes sudden and erratic gusts which may swing a canoe broadside into the trough of the waves. These conditions call for sturdy vessels and expert watermanship. Lake Atitlan is as much as 300 m deep, and, owing to its precipitous shores, one Zutugil Dugout Canoes 473 and had been built several years prior to 1928, when A, V. Kidder. G. C. Vaillant, and I traveled in it (Fig. 111.2b–d). It was 10.7 m long and 1.6 m broad. It was still in existence in 1932 but had been replaced before 1936 by one measuring 10.05 m by 1.06 m (McBryde 1947:99, Pl. 24), In 1932 the municipality of San Pedro Laguna also owned a large dugout (Figs. 111.1d; 111.2a. A small canoe we measured was 3.7 m long and 66 cm wide. Some are even smaller (Fig. 111.1b...

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