QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MTJNICrPIO — BRAND 



LAND SETTLEMENT 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 



In order to understand the development of the 

 land settlement pattern and of the system of land 

 holdings, it is necessary to review the legendary 

 and colonial history of occupation in the Patzcuaro 

 Basin together with a discussion of place names 

 and their changes. The principal source for 

 legendary history and pre-Spanish place names is 

 the Relaci6n de Michoacan, presumably written 

 by a Franciscan friar between 1538 and 1541. 

 Some time in the twelfth century a group of 

 seminomadic (Chichimec) Tarascans under Hireti- 

 catame separated from the main group in the 

 Zacapu-Naranja area just northwest of the 

 Patzcuaro Basin. For about four generations 

 they occupied the northern portion of the basin 

 with a center at Vayameo (Bayameo, Uayameo, 

 etc.) near modern Santa Fe de la Laguna — 

 probably at the base of the Cerro de Guayameo 

 just to the northwest of Santa Fe. When these 

 Chichimec Tarascans entered the lake basin they 

 found the region occupied by two groups of 

 sedentary agricultural and fishing Tarascans: an 

 older group (Ivnown as islanders because they lived 

 primarily on the islands and coastlands) with a 

 center on the island of Xaracuaro (Jaracuaro) 

 and a younger group (known as snake-Chichimecs) 

 who occupied the lands to the east of Lake 

 Patzcuaro with their main settlement at Curin- 

 guaro (modern San Sim6n Quiringuaro, which 

 formerly belonged to the jurisdiction of Acuitzio — 

 "place of snakes"). For two generations the 

 most recently arrived Chichimecs wandered over 

 the region in the southern part of the basin, made 

 alliances (first with Xaracuaro and then with 

 Cm-inguaro), and finally under Tariacuri (whose 

 mother was from Xaracuaro, and whose wife was 

 a daughter of the chief of Curinguaro) settled 

 down at Patzcuaro. The sons and second cousins 

 of Tariacuri completed the conquest of all of the 

 Patzcuaro Basin and of most of central and 

 northern Michoacan, divided the nuclear area 

 into three parts (with capitals at Patzcuaro, 

 Cuyacan or modern Ihuatzio, and Michoacan or 

 modern Tzintzuntzan), and began the conquest of 

 southern Michoacan, Jalisco, and Guanajuato. 

 When the line of Tariacuri became extmct in the 

 third generation, the kingdom was divided between 

 Hiripan of Cuyacan (who was the senior ruler) and 



Tangaxoan of Michoacan. Wlien Hiripan's son 

 Ticatame died, the primacy moved to Michoacan 

 where Tangaxoan's son Zisispandaquare was ruler. 

 Zisispandaquare extended the Tarascan kingdom 

 into Jalisco, Colima, and Guerrero, defeated the 

 Mexican armies in the east, and divided the 

 Tarascan state into four parts or quarters. His 

 grandson was Tangaxoan Zincicha, who was ruler 

 in 1522 when Michoacan was conquered. 



There is no mention of Cocupao (Quiroga) in 

 the Relaci6n. Localities mentioned in the Quiroga 

 area, which can be identified, are: Penol de 

 Capacureo (known as Peiiol de Capacuaro and 

 Cerrito Uarapo in the tiiulos of Santa Fe and San 

 Diego Cocupao; shovm on Beaumont and Seler 

 maps as Yrapo; now known as Cerro Huarapo or 

 Cerro de San Miguel) ; Xenguaro (modern Capula) ; 

 Teremendo; Xajo (later Jaso and Xaxo, modern 

 Sajo); Santa Fe; Vayameo or Uayameo (at foot 

 of modern Cerro Guayameo) ; Yzipamuco and 

 many variants (Itziparamuco of colonial times, 

 near modern Cuenembo) ; and Tariaran or Taria- 

 yaran, under the lord Zinzuni, which became the 

 Cuidad de Michoacan of conquest times (modern 

 Tzintzuntzan), and its barrio Yavaro. Among 

 other identifiable places in the general region are: 

 Matoxeo (Matujeo), Sipiaxo (Sipiajo), Vaniqueo 

 (Huaniqueo), Uangao (Huango), Chucandiro, 

 Hetucuaro (modern Tarimbaro), Arar6, Cina- 

 pecuaro (Zinapecuaro) , Vayangareo (later Guay- 

 angareo, Valladolid, and Morelia), Matalcingo 

 (Charo), Tu-ipitio, Tiristaran, Naranja, Zacapu, 

 Puruandho, Erongaricuaro, Zurumutaro, Pazcuaro 

 (Patzcuaro), and all of the islands of the lake, as 

 well as Mount Tariacuri back of Tzintzuntzan, 

 etc. 



Apparently the general Tarascan people were 

 divided bj^ blood and by position. The related 

 ruling families of Chichimec ancestry and their 

 lesser Chichimec followers (all of Zacapu-Naranja 

 or Sierra Tarascan origin) constituted one blood 

 grouping with no other known name than the 

 Mexicano one of "Chichimec" applied to them 

 by the Spaniards and their Mexicano followers 

 and interpreters. Possibly included with this 

 blood grouping were the "snake-Chichimecs" 

 of Curinguaro, Yzipamuco, Tariaran, etc., whose 

 rulers were much intermarried with the later 

 Chichimecs. The other great blood group was 



