TARASCAN INDIANS and fishing for whitefish

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aukepalmhof
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TARASCAN INDIANS and fishing for whitefish

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Jul 28, 2019 8:20 pm

In March 1967, Jordan issued a set of six stamps as publicity for the Olympic Games to be hold in Mexico. The 2 Fils value of this set depicts Tarascan Indians, of the Lake Patzeuaro region of Mexico, in their fishing canoes and the unusual type of dip net they use for fishing.

The Tarascan fishermen go out in groups of six with wide spreading dip nets after small whitefish. The nets have a width of about sixteen feet and a height of eight feet. They are put into the water and raised again by means of a central pole. The fisherman take their places in a circle, with their nets submerged in vertical position. Paddling with one hand, resting the end of the handle against the shoulder, and holding the net with the other hand, they close the circle, driving a school of fish within de ring of their nets. At a signal, all sweep their nets up toward the surface and enclose the fish, dumping them into their narrow dugout. Considering that the canoes are very small, just wide enough to permit a man to sit in them, wider at the bottom than at the top, and accordingly apt to capsize, great skill is required to manipulate the nets without an upset. To use a paddle with only one hand and arm requires more than ordinary skill with a canoe. The Tarascans use this method of paddling every time they go out for whitefish. From the little canoes they transfer the catch into larger dugouts which follow the fishermen. The larger craft, with low, square sterns and high pointed bows, are too unwieldy for use with the dip nets.

From “Canoes the World Over” by Terence T. Quirke and published in Watercraft Philately Nov./Dec. 1967 page 21.
Jordan 1967 2 Fils sg 798. Scott 538A.
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1967 Tarasco-fishermen-in-boats.jpg

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