The acequia system of northern New Mexico- By: , 16 Jun 1996 In "Mayodomo" Stanley Crawford describes his experience as manager of an "acequia" or irrigation ditch systemin arid northern New Mexico. The use of acequia-irrigation originatedin Spain & was introduced to the desert Southwest by Franciscan monks over 300 years ago. Acequias feed from rivers or larger acequias, & from these larger tributaries water is run through farm land & orchards then back to the main source. Each year a manager (mayordomo) & three commissioners (comisiados) are democratically elected to oversee water rates & insure fair distribution of water to each "parciante" or landowner who farms along the ditch. Acequia association members are historically of Hispanic or Latino descent, so Crawford's anglo heritage creates an interesting viewpoint of an age old tradition.
As mayordomo Crawford supervises the annual spring clearing of his association's acequia, determines the amount of water that each parciante will receive, & is partially responcible for record keeping & payrolls. A parciante's share of water is determined by the nature of his plantings & for a larger part, the weather. As manager of his ditch Crawford must also contend with family feuding, annual dues or "delincuencias" & parciantes who "cheat" by diverting water to their lands.
Crawford's observations take more into account than the physical labor & political hierarchy associated with the maintenance of an acequia. His words create a meaningful perspective of life among the residents of an old northern New Mexican farming community & his story reveals a group of people that have been chronicled by few writers & generally ignored or forgotten by everyone else. It is a book with literary, anthropological, political, & historical significance. Spanish water laws, established long before state government regulations, support solidarity & insure the parciante's placein the community. Recent land & water legal disputes threaten to undermine an important aspect of lifein northern New Mexico, one that keeps these communities together & has done so for hundreds of years.
